€500k search for world’s top start-up to begin in Dublin

18 Jun 2013

Skype co-founder and Atomico founder Niklas Zennström at last year's Web Summit

Tech start-ups will have the chance to pitch in front of some of the world’s top tech investors at PITCH, a new €500,000 search for the world’s top start-up at the Dublin Web Summit later this year. Start-ups will get to present at an event attended by major players, including the co-founder of Skype Niklas Zennström, Palintir Technologies’ Joe Lonsdale, Google Ventures’ Kevin Rose, Evernote board member Esther Dyson and renowned blogger Robert Scoble.

PITCH is being launched in association with Aaron Levie’s cloud platform Box.

More than 100 start-ups will pitch in front of heavy-hitters including Zennström, who also founded Atomico; Dyson, who is also an angel investor; Google Ventures and Digg founder Rose; and Scoble.

As well as being in the eye of the storm of 300 investors from top Silicon Valley venture firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, KPCB, Accel, Atomico and Index, the winners will receive a prize consisting of cash and services from professional services firms like KPMG.

This year’s line-up at the Dublin Web Summit on 30 and 31 October will include WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg and the founder of Hailo Jay Bregman, and to give things even more of an adrenalin rush, pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk will be at this year’s event.

Start-ups chosen for the summit’s Alpha programme will also be able to exhibit for the price of a regular attendee ticket, the Web Summit organisers said today.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com