Love & Robots announced as the winner of the 2014 ESB Spark of Genius Award at #WebSummit

Love & Robots has been announced as the winner of the 2014 ESB Spark of Genius Award at the Web Summit. Now in its fifth year, past winners of the ESB Spark of Genius Award include Viddyad, Datahug and SmartThings who were recently acquired by Samsung.

Love & Robots began their journey with thirty other start-ups ranging from consumer sentiment Apps, online fashion retailing, social gaming, a hospital communication app and Bitcoin security for banks, all of whom pitched to a judging panel during the preliminary rounds in September.

Beating off stiff competition, Love & Robots made it through to the final round at the 2014 Web Summit, along with TenderScout and Restored Hearing. After an intensive pitching round, Love & Robots was announced as the winner of this year’s ESB Spark of Genius Award, receiving a cash prize of €25,000, plus a fund of services to assist them in the start-up phase.

Emer O’Daly, CEO and co-founder of Love & Robots commented; “We are delighted to have won the 2014 ESB Spark of Genius Award. To compete against so many other amazing companies and to be selected as the winner is an amazing feeling. We’ve met some wonderful people during this competition and wish them all the best.”

Speaking today, Marguerite Sayers, Incoming Managing Director of ESB Networks said; “The companies that have pitched here today and in particular the winners Love & Robots embody the entrepreneurial spirit that exists in Ireland today, where innovation underpins our economic resilience. ESB is delighted to foster and develop this culture by sponsoring the Spark of Genius competition.’