Glimpse co-founder Shane O’Sullivan has been awarded the Bolton Trust/PwC Innovation Award for this year, and takes away a prize of €10,000 for Glimpse’s advertising technology app, Consensys.

After taking a degree in computer science at Maynooth University, O’Sullivan went on to work with Amazon Web Services before co-founding Glimpse with Oran Mulvey and recently graduating from the New Frontiers programme run by TU Dublin and IADT Dun Laoghaire.

Consensys sets out to analyse the demographic profile of visitors as they walk past digital advertising displays. Consensys uses this information to display advertisements specifically targeted at the dominant demographic profile of viewers at that point in time. 

Consensys also aims to measure the number of people who looked at an advertisement and for how long. The judging panel for the innovation awards reckoned that the venture has very strong potential for global expansion and return on investment.

Bolton Trust chairman John Lauder said: “Our innovation awards aim to help highly innovative startups along the sometimes difficult road to securing investment. I am very glad to report that our three most recent winners have raised €4m since their success in the awards."

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Runners-up in the innovation contest were Keith Curley of Gladcloud, an AI-based location marketing platform, and Patrick Liddy, Utility AR, who has developed augmented reality solutions for industry.

Gladcloud’s AI-based location marketing platform “empowers brands, franchises and wholesalers to transform their thousands of merchant partners into digital brand ambassadors”, according to the company. 

UtilityAR develops augmented reality solutions for utilities, industry, and other organisations which manage large portfolios of physical assets. The company has acquired a range of local and multinational clients in the data centre, pharma and utility sectors.

PwC managing partner Feargal O’Rourke added: “Our 2019 global CEO survey highlighted that 85% of CEOs believe that Artificial Intelligence will significantly change the way business is done in the next few years.  The 2019 innovation award finalists have identified the opportunities that artificial intelligence and other technologies can bring to business and this is at the core of their innovations. We are delighted to support Irish entrepreneurs through these Awards and wish all of the candidates every success.”

Photo: Shane O’Sullivan (right) with PwC partner John Dunne. (Pix: Jason Clarke)