In tech business news this week, Dublin came eighth for its attractiveness to start-ups in the European Digital City Index, and Emer Coleman was appointed head of the new Open Data Governance Board.
Dublin ranks 8th in European Digital City Index
A new European Digital City Index compiled by the Nesta foundation has ranked Dublin eighth out of 35 European cities that are considered attractive cities to establish a start-up, with London ranked No 1.
The European Digital City Index (EDCI) covers all capital cities in the 28 European Union (EU) member states (and seven other major tech hubs) as part of the European Digital Forum, an interdisciplinary research hub co-managed by Nesta and the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based think tank.
And, based off their findings, Dublin has ranked eighth in both the start-ups and scale-ups categories.
Emer Coleman appointed chair of Ireland’s new Open Data Governance Board
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has announced the establishment of an Open Data Governance Board with Inspirefest 2016 speaker Emer Coleman at its helm.
The Open Data Governance Board will be responsible with advising the Irish Government on a national strategy for its Open Data Initiative, which was launched in July of last year.
Nine board members have been appointed following what has been described as an intensive application process. Leading the board as chair is Emer Coleman, an experienced digital leader with a background in both the public and private sector.
Stripe’s Collison brothers with top EY entrepreneurial award
Patrick and John Collison, the Tipperary brothers who sold their first company for $5m when they were teens and now run a Silicon Valley payments giant called Stripe valued at $5bn, have won this year’s EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Stripe was founded five years ago when Patrick was 22 and John was 19. The company has received investment from Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Sequoia Capital, Visa and American Express to name a few. Stripe enables internet sites to accept credit and debit card payments easily and without friction.
Today, the company processes billions of dollars a year for customers that include Kickstarter and Salesforce.
Google reports first Q3 under the auspices of parent company Alphabet
The first time reporting under the corporate umbrella of Alphabet and Google has blown away Wall St expectations with profits of $3.98bn on revenues of $18.7bn, which were up 21pc year-on-year.
Websites generated revenues of $13bn, up 16pc on last year, while Google Network Member websites saw revenues rise 4pc to $3.6bn.
Total advertising revenues worked out at $16.7bn, up 13pc on the previous year, while other revenues came in at $1.8bn.
Earnings per share were $7.35, ahead of analyst expectations of $7.21 per share.
YouTube to launch YouTube Red
YouTube, the second largest search engine on the planet, is to take on Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora with a new $9.99 a month subscription service called YouTube Red. To sweeten the deal, the Google company also launched YouTube Originals, which will feature original programming.
YouTube Red will launch in the US on 28 October with one month’s free trial.
YouTube senior product manager Matt Leske said that not only will the service enable fans to watch videos uninterrupted but it provides a new mechanism to support their favourite YouTube stars and video creators.
ITV to buy out UTV and UTV Ireland for €136m
After what has proved a less-than-ideal start for Ireland’s newest free-to-air channel, UTV Ireland, along with UTV in Northern Ireland, is expected to be sold to ITV in a deal worth a reported €136m (£100m).
Having launched at the very beginning of this year, UTV Ireland has arguably failed to live up to its aspirations within the country, despite it attracting big names to join it, including Pat Kenny and Chris Donoghue, with the channel reporting a loss of €10.5m in the first half of 2015.
And now, according to The Irish Times, UTV’s entire TV service is expected to be sold to ITV, where it will become a part of the UK’s largest commercial public service broadcaster.
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