2025 AI Awards Finalists Revealed!

Meet the 2025 AI Awards Finalists

Best Application of AI in a Large Enterprise

ICON plc – ICON’s OMR-ANA uses LLMs, RAG and graph AI agents to simplify clinical trial data. By enabling natural language queries and delivering real-time, explainable insights, it accelerates decision-making, improves efficiency, risk management and trial outcomes.

Marsh McLennan – Marsh McLennan’s LenAI, an Irish-led AI assistant used by 70,000 employees across 130 countries, automates tasks, accelerates proposals and provides explainable insights. It saves time, boosts win rate and drives AI adoption across the firm.

Pearson Milking Technology – Pearson Milking Technology’s automated Body Condition Scoring system uses computer vision, deep learning, RFID and edge AI to deliver daily cattle health data. It improves animal welfare, farm efficiency and sustainability, enabling scalable precision livestock management.

Workhuman – Workhuman’s AI Assistant converts recognition data into real-time insights for HR and managers. Combining generative AI and people analytics, it highlights engagement, retention, DE&I and skills trends, boosting performance, employee experience and program ROI ethically.

Best Use of Responsible AI & Ethics

IBM Research – IBM Research’s Risk Atlas Nexus embeds fragmented AI risk taxonomies, benchmarks and controls into a dynamic knowledge graph. Integrating LLMs, auto-assist questionnaires and real-time mitigation, it operationalises responsible AI, enhancing transparency, accountability and scalable ethical governance across development lifecycles.

North – North’s responsible AI platform standardizes model outputs, detects bias and translates predictions into plain language for financial institutions. By improving fairness, transparency and compliance, it builds customer trust, boosts efficiency and sets a scalable benchmark for ethical AI in high-stakes domains.

Orcawise – Orcawise’s RAIMS® applies responsible AI standards in daily practice, governing prompts, risks and agents while generating one-click Evidence Packs. Lightweight, interoperable and model-agnostic, it ensures traceable, auditable workflows with certified practitioner training driving real-world adoption.

Version 1 – Version 1’s Responsible AI Advisor combines retrieval-augmented generation, multi-model fallback and region-specific guidance to deliver actionable, citation-backed compliance advice. It turns complex global AI regulation into an interactive, trustworthy experience, reducing risk while promoting ethical innovation worldwide.

Best Application of AI in Sustainability

AI2Peat by CeADAR – AI2Peat’s PeatSense platform uses AI, satellite imagery and GIS to map peatland conditions at national scale. It enables carbon estimates, restoration planning and policy compliance, supporting cost-effective, data-driven environmental management and EU reporting.

Compliance & Risks – Sustainability by Compliance & Risks is an AI-native platform that accelerates ESG compliance from months to minutes. Using fine-tuned LLMs, regulatory taxonomies and human validation, it delivers traceable, tailored actions, reducing risk and advancing sustainable supply chain responsibility.

Net Feasa – Net Feasa’s Agentic Control Tower uses AI and IoT to turn shipping containers into autonomous agents. Automating route planning, load matching and documentation, it cuts empty journeys, emissions, spoilage and costs, creating a greener, more efficient global logistics network.

Positive Carbon – Positive Carbon’s AI system monitors food waste in commercial kitchens using computer vision and depth sensors. By identifying discarded items and providing actionable insights, it reduces waste 30–58%, saves money, cuts CO₂ emissions and supports ESG compliance.

Best Application of AI in Consumer/Customer Service

Ardanis – Ardanis’ Aileen automates high-volume, regulated contact centre inquiries using NLP and sentiment analysis. Resolving tickets in under 30 seconds and doubling automation coverage, it ensures compliance, boosts efficiency and frees agents for complex, human-centered support.

ICON – ICON’s EngageAI transforms multilingual clinical trial feedback into real-time, actionable insights. Automating sentiment analysis and sponsor summaries, it replaces 30+ days of manual review, enhances trial efficiency, reduces bias and strengthens sponsor engagement globally.

Laya Healthcare – Laya Healthcare’s ORCA automates outpatient claims for 700k+ members using AI vision, OCR and ML. Reducing fraud, speeding reimbursements and providing real-time eligibility feedback, it saves millions annually and sets a scalable standard for healthcare AI.

SSE Airtricity – SSE Airtricity’s AVA automates customer service for 700k+ users via AI, IVR and WhatsApp. Handling 80% of queries, it boosts first-contact resolution by 30%, reduces call handling by 50% and drives scalable, personalised self-service adoption.

Best Application of AI to achieve Social Good

ALPACA Assessment – ALPACA by Early Intervention Tools uses AI to screen 4–6-year-olds for dyslexia risk before reading begins. Game-based, classroom assessments provide personalised insights for teachers and parents, enabling targeted interventions and improving early literacy outcomes.

EMMI – EMMI’s NeuroBridgeEDU leverages AI to enhance educational accessibility for neurodivergent and multilingual students. Providing real-time transcription, adaptive support and summarisation, it reduces educator workload, improves comprehension and enables inclusive, personalised learning worldwide.

FLIT Financial Literacy – FLIT uses AI to close Ireland’s financial literacy gap, offering life-stage guidance, chat-based advice and tools like “Run My Numbers.” Combined with community workshops, it empowers women, strengthens family finances and drives measurable societal impact.

MoonShot – Moonshot uses AI to detect and prevent online threats, protecting public figures, athletes and at-risk communities. Its multi-layered system combines monitoring, context-aware models and human expertise to improve crisis response, scalability and digital safety.

Best Application of AI in Healthcare

ICON PLC – ICON’s SMARTDRAFT uses AI to streamline clinical trial contract management, cutting contract cycles from months to weeks. LLM-powered search, clause extraction and automated drafting accelerate site activation, ensure compliance and boost operational efficiency in healthcare trials.

MedicSage – MedicSage integrates patient, carer and clinician data into structured, auditable summaries. Using multi-agent AI, LLMs and Graph-RAG, it reconciles records, elevates carer insights and ensures GDPR-compliant outputs, improving clinical efficiency, patient safety and continuity of care.

SPRYT – SPRYT’s Asa, an AI scheduling assistant, manages appointments via WhatsApp, SMS and RCS, reaching digitally excluded patients. Combining conversational AI, predictive analytics and EMR integration, it reduces no-shows, boosts engagement and frees staff, thus making healthcare more accessible and efficient.

St. Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network – St. Luke’s implemented AI-powered anatomical contouring across three sites, halving manual planning time and reducing variability in 68% of structures. Their human-in-the-loop workflow improves efficiency, patient outcomes and offers a replicable model for scalable oncology AI adoption.

Best Application of AI in Cybersecurity

Munster Technological University – MTU’s AI-powered Zero Trust MQTT Broker uses reinforcement learning and Bayesian inference to continuously assess IoT device behavior. Delivering scalable, low-latency, explainable security, it protects critical infrastructure, smart cities and edge devices while enabling AI-driven trust enforcement.

Obvai by Kaionix – Obvai is an AI governance platform for CISOs and their teams that provides real-time visibility into organisational AI usage. Built for EU AI Act readiness, Obvai’s risk-first architecture helps security teams monitor, audit and control AI systems across the enterprise—reducing compliance burden while preventing data exposure and unauthorised AI usage.

TrustWorks – TrustWorks unifies cybersecurity, IT and compliance with AI-driven discovery, risk mapping, anomaly detection and automated actions. By embedding governance into workflows, it improves efficiency, collaboration and resilience, helping enterprises manage risk smarter and faster.

UrbanFox – UrbanFox leverages AI multi-agent GANs to detect and prevent fraud in real time. Simulating fraudulent behaviours and comparing them to user activity, it reduces complex fraud and account takeovers, making online fraud economically unviable.

Best Application of AI in an Academic Research Body

ADAPT Centre – ADAPT Centre in collaboration with Dublin City Council, launched Ireland’s first local government Generative AI Lab to safely integrate AI into public services. Co-designing projects, developing prototypes and training staff, it enhances efficiency, transparency and citizen services while modeling ethical AI adoption.

AIMSIR – AIMSIR, a Met Éireann and UCD initiative, applies AI to weather, climate and flood services. Combining research, training and advanced infrastructure, it delivers operational models, strengthens public safety, builds AI expertise and positions Ireland as a European leader in AI-driven meteorology.

CeADAR Ireland – CeADAR UCD in collaboration with Durotimi AI, develops explainable AI for early cancer detection, achieving 95%+ accuracy across five types. Using hybrid models on de-identified records, it empowers clinicians with actionable, ethical and scalable AI healthcare solutions.

South East Technological University – SETU integrates AI into architectural education, training students in ML, computer vision and generative design. Through research-led curricula and global collaborations, students create AI tools, promoting ethical use, professional readiness and Ireland’s leadership in AI-driven architecture innovation.

Best Application of AI in a Startup

Bot Bureau – Bot Bureau’s 24/7 AI receptionist uses natural Irish voices to manage calls, FAQs, bookings and leads. GDPR- and EU AI Act-compliant, it boosts efficiency, customer experience and business intelligence, helping SMEs reduce missed calls and lost revenue.

Dimply – Dimply’s no-code AI platform enables financial institutions to design and deploy hyper-personalised customer journeys. Its AI Experience Builder translates natural language prompts into compliant, real-time flows, cutting iteration time by 60% while empowering non-technical teams at scale.

KineMo – KineMo’s markerless AI platform tracks 3D whole-body movement from a single camera. Delivering accurate, actionable metrics for rehabilitation, performance and injury prevention, it supports clinicians, coaches and individuals across sports, healthcare and consumer applications.

WHYZE Health – WHYZE Health unifies clinical trial and real-world patient data using AI modules for digitisation, matching, prediction and analytics. Blockchain-secured and compliant, it enhances trial efficiency, patient engagement and therapeutic development globally.

Best Application of AI in Manufacturing

Anato – Anato’s AI-powered mobile platform delivers rapid, portable crumb structure analysis for bakeries and ingredient manufacturers. By replacing slow, costly methods with real-time, accurate insights, it optimises production, reduces waste and enables scalable, data-driven quality control across manufacturing operations.

Mesh Bioplastics – Mesh Bioplastics’ VariControl platform applies AI and IoT data to optimise recycled and biodegradable plastics manufacturing. Reducing scrap up to 25%, improving OEE 10–15% and cutting energy use 15–20%, it enables SMEs to achieve sustainable, efficient and compliant operations.

Protex AI – Protex AI converts existing CCTV systems into proactive, AI-driven safety platforms. Using computer vision and edge computing, it detects unsafe behaviours, predicts risks and delivers actionable insights, reducing incidents 50–70% while enhancing workplace safety, efficiency and compliance globally.

Seagate – Seagate’s AMKPIV system uses AI-driven anomaly detection to transform semiconductor manufacturing. Leveraging 1D Convolutional Autoencoders and hybrid cloud/on-prem MLOps, it identifies subtle deviations in real time, improving yield, reducing false alarms and empowering proactive, data-driven decision-making across sites.

Best Application of AI in an S.M.E.

Chirp – Chirp is creating the world’s first kernel-level child-protection software, using AI to block cyberbullying, grooming, sextortion and self-harm content in real time. Ethics-by-design ensures safety without surveillance, aiming to protect 15M children globally by 2030.

Corlytics – Corlytics uses AI to transform regulatory compliance, mapping regulations to internal policies via NLP and fine-tuned LLMs. Trusted by 100+ global clients, it enhances efficiency, accuracy and oversight, making compliance proactive, manageable and ethically governed across highly regulated industries.

Decisis – Decisis has transformed Irish legal reporting, cutting case summary turnaround from 7 days to one day. Using AI-driven data extraction, fine-tuned models and expert oversight, it delivers accurate, near real-time reports with an intuitive app and assistant.

ExamFly – ExamFly reinvents accounting and tax education with an AI-powered platform combining generative content, adaptive tutoring and gamification. By turning complex regulations into personalized, interactive journeys, it boosts engagement, increases pass rates and scales effective, human-centric professional learning.

AI Person of the Year

Alireza Dehghani –Principal Investigator at CeADAR, Alireza develops practical, human-centred AI across healthcare, civic and industrial domains. With 15+ years’ experience, he drives early cancer detection, AI Digital Twins and adoption programs, bridging research and real-world impact.

Gerard Quinn – Gerard leads ICON’s AI Centre of Excellence, advancing human-centred AI in clinical trials. His work automates contracts, accelerates site selection, improves regulatory forecasting and enhances patient engagement, delivering ethical, scalable AI that shortens timelines and benefits patients, sponsors and society.

Ioana Ghergulescu – Head of Research at Adaptemy, Ioana develops adaptive, pedagogically grounded AI for education. Integrating generative AI and XR, she improves engagement, learning efficiency and accessibility, while mentoring and leading global deployments that shape AI-driven, personalised education at scale.

John Clancy – Founder of Galvia, John makes advanced analytics accessible for SMEs and enterprises by unifying fragmented data into actionable insights. He drives responsible, inclusive AI adoption across retail, healthcare and government, shaping Ireland’s AI ecosystem while delivering measurable business impact.

Women in AI Ambassador of the Year

Ghadeer Ghosheh – Ghadeer pioneers biological foundation models and generative AI to advance precision medicine. Leading interdisciplinary teams, she ensures clinicians, biologists and women drive innovation, shaping a human-centred, inclusive AI ecosystem that accelerates breakthroughs in healthcare and science.

Maryrose Lyons – Founder of The AI Institute, Maryrose promotes inclusive, human-centred AI. With 20+ years in digital innovation, she empowers professionals, especially women and non-technical users, through practical AI training, bridging technical expertise and human behaviour to drive ethical adoption and societal impact.

Mithra Ravichandran – Senior Data Scientist Mithra empowers women from diverse backgrounds through hands-on AI mentorship, workshops and tutorials. She builds confidence, promotes inclusive communities and develops sustainable leadership, ensuring women shape the future of AI.

Swati Narsinghani – Data Science Manager at ICON, Swati develops AI tools like FORWARD+ and ICONex to enhance clinical trials. She mentors women in tech, promotes diverse talent and champions ethical, inclusive AI, advancing both healthcare and the workforce.

Young AI Role Model of the Year

Anthony Slawski – An early-career AI researcher and UCD Physics graduate, Anthony develops explainable AI tools for early dyslexia screening in Irish schools. His work emphasises trust, equity, mentorship and real-world deployment, bridging machine learning, physics and social impact.

Cillian Fahy – PhD researcher and SparkSeeds CTO, Cillian applies AI to underwater robotics, ecological monitoring and neurodivergent education. Combining research, teaching and entrepreneurship, Cillian develops inclusive, practical AI solutions with societal, industrial and educational impact.

Jack Murphy – Data Scientist at Musgrave, Jack leverages AI to enhance retail decision-making. He developed segmentation models, an Experimentation Framework and predictive analytics that drive €25M projected revenue, making complex data actionable, ethical and results-driven.

Paul Banahan – AI researcher at Mater Hospital, Paul develops generative AI for CT-to-MRI translation, improving emergency triage. Leading the Mater Center for AI and Digital Health, he advances patient-centric, accessible, and personalised healthcare through research, mentorship and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Best Application of AI in a Student Project

Amin Kargar – Amin’s AI-powered insect monitoring system runs on low-power edge devices, detecting and counting pests in real time. Lightweight deep learning and IoT deployment reduce crop losses, lower pesticide use and enable scalable, sustainable agriculture monitoring.

Dmytro Lutskiv – Dmytro’s AI deepfake detector identifies mismatches between speech and lip movements using AV-HuBERT and convolutional-transformer models. Scalable and energy-efficient, it protects privacy, prevents misinformation and enhances security across social media, video conferencing and legal applications.

Ethan O’Brien & Ruchit Gandhi – FallWatch is a smart insole using AI to monitor gait and predict falls in seniors. LSTM neural networks assess stride, balance and symmetry, providing real-time alerts to caregivers, enabling proactive fall prevention and improved safety and independence.

Miriam Russell – Miriam Russell’s MSc AI project integrates prescribing, lab, patient and genomic data to flag infection risks and prescribing issues. Explainable and low-digital friendly, her model supports scalable, trusted AI in healthcare, advancing global antimicrobial stewardship.