Dublin Web Summit 2013 boasted 10,000 attendees from 97 countries, over 60 speakers, hundreds of exhibitors, and this year achieved the distinction of being Europe’s largest technology conference.

The event consisted of a main stage where talks and panel discussions featuring the technology world’s most prestigious and esteemed took place. The focus of these talks was the current state of technology and what developments we can expect in both the near and distant future. The central hall featured large pitching stages where over 900 ambitious young entrepreneurs pitched their start-ups to panels of investors. The web summit attracts entrepreneurs from all over the world, with exhibitors from the US, Europe, Israel and as far afield as Dubai all gathering alongside an army of Irish entrepreneurs for the chance to impress and network.

335 Irish Jobs Announced at Web Summit 2013

During The Summit 335 Irish jobs were announced in nine European and US tech companies that are expanding their business to Ireland. The jobs are in the areas of software development, online security, internet and digital media.

Enterprise Ireland HPSU, Trustev, also announced seed funding of $3 million at The Summit which will be used to finance the company’s expansion in the US. Trustev, who provide real-time identity verification to help reduce e-commerce fraud, will expand its Irish operation, with numbers expected to grow to 20 from 15 before the end of the year.

Enterprise Ireland Client Company Viddy Ad wins ESB Spark of Genius award

The 2013 ESB Spark of Genius award was won by Enterprise Ireland Client company ViddyAd. The Spark of Genius award is an annual award which this year saw over 100 Irish technology companies battle it out to win a cash prize of €25,000 plus a fund of services.

Viddyad is the world’s first cloud based video ad creation tool, with access to over 10 million videos and images to choose from. Users select their videos and images, add text, logo, music and special effects and the Viddyad platform creates a video commercial in seconds for use online, through social media, blogs or websites.

The ESB Spark of Genius Award focuses on high potential technology start-ups and was open to any Irish start-up which has been in operation for less than three years and has received under €1m in funding to date. Entrants were judged on the uniqueness of their idea, their level of development thus far, and their potential for future growth.

No sooner was this year's Web Summit over when plans for next year's began and the website is already advertising tickets with a current deal of a 2 for 1 voucher costing €790. Visit it here at www.websummit.net.

Check out the selection of photos from Web Summit below:
(Photo Credit: Conor McCabe Photogrpahy and Heisenberg Media)