The winners of the National AI Challenge 2026 were announced at the TechIreland National AI Meet in Galway on 24 September.
From 17 finalists, Fabius, Spheriio and Shannon ONE were selected as the winning teams, while Safe Waters received the Community Award.
The projects focus on very different areas, from property intelligence and women’s health to estuary monitoring and bathing-water safety. Together, they also reflect the breadth of practical problems being explored across Ireland’s growing AI ecosystem.
National AI Challenge 2026 Winning Projects
Fabius
Fabius is developing an Agentic Property Intelligence platform for the property sector.
Built during the two-week Challenge, the platform aims to turn fragmented property data into clearer, actionable intelligence. The Fabius team included Max Shannon, Dayna Earls, Yash Karle and Afnan Amin Ali.
Spheriio
Spheriio focuses on transforming women’s health signals and hormonal data into personalised, AI-powered insights.
The team describes the project as a 360-degree women’s health companion designed to help women better understand hormonal changes, particularly during midlife, with greater clarity, confidence and personalised support.
Shannon ONE
Shannon ONE is developing a solution for live estuary monitoring and environmental compliance.
The project, called “Live Estuary Intelligence and Compliance Register”, aims to support the monitoring of environmental data and make compliance processes easier to manage.
Safe Waters
Safe Waters, which received the Community Award, uses AI to support earlier bathing-water risk predictions.
The project brings together rainfall, catchment conditions, tidal information and historical water-quality measurements. Its goal is to estimate bathing-water risks up to seven days in advance.
Almost 1,000 Registrations in 2026
Another important part of this year’s National AI Challenge is the scale it has reached.
Figures shared by TechIreland show that registrations increased from 237 in 2024 to 545 in 2025, reaching almost 1,000 in 2026.
From those participants, 96 AI projects emerged, with 17 teams selected to showcase their solutions in Galway.
TechIreland also says the Challenge was delivered over the past few months with experts from more than 75 organisations, becoming what it describes as the largest AI hackathon on the island of Ireland.
The programme was supported by Enterprise Ireland and the European Digital Innovation Hubs Network, alongside regional innovation hubs, technology communities, mentors and industry experts from across Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Can It Become More Than a Competition?
The value of the National AI Challenge is not limited to selecting a group of winners.
The programme gives people from different professional backgrounds an opportunity to form teams, focus on real-world problems and turn their ideas into working prototypes within a short period.
This also reflects the goal TechIreland highlighted when launching the Challenge: moving from AI experimentation towards practical implementation.
Participants were encouraged to consider not only what could be built, but also how these solutions could be implemented, governed and used to create meaningful impact.
However, turning an idea into a working solution in two weeks is only the first step.
The more difficult question comes next. Can these projects reach real users, develop into sustainable products and continue growing after the Challenge?
AI Dubliners Perspective: The Next Chapter Starts Now
Through AI Dubliners, I have been following the National AI Challenge from the beginning and shared its progress before the final stage.
Although I could not make it to Galway this year, for me, the most interesting part of the story begins now:
Where will these projects go after the Challenge?
Seeing whether Fabius, Spheriio, Shannon ONE and Safe Waters develop into real products, companies or long-term initiatives will also help us understand how Ireland’s AI ecosystem is evolving.
I will continue following these teams through AI Dubliners to see where they go next.
Congratulations to the winning teams, all 17 finalists and everyone who participated in the National AI Challenge 2026. Congratulations also to TechIreland, its programme partners, mentors, judges and regional innovation hubs for bringing people from across the island together to build practical AI solutions.
