Five innovative Irish companies have been named finalists for the 2026 National Startup Awards, with the winners set to be revealed at a ceremony in Dublin City Hall on 19 November. The shortlist spans artificial intelligence, food production, tax automation, education technology and sustainability sectors.
Key facts
- The National Startup Awards ceremony will take place at Dublin City Hall on 19 November 2026
- Finalists include AI recruitment platform Staq AI, Mexican salsa producer Garnacha, and tax automation firm Leapifai
- Education platform Anytime Creativity and sustainability reporting company White Spire complete the shortlist
- Each finalist operates in a distinct sector, from technology to food production
AI Solutions Lead Technology Category
Staq AI, founded by Caren Schwannauer, Mark Kelly and Ivana Leto, has developed voice agent technology to help companies screen job candidates at scale. The Dublin-based startup aims to become the leading AI-native recruitment operating system for high-volume hiring, ensuring qualified candidates are not overlooked during the hiring process. The company’s platform addresses growing recruitment challenges faced by Irish and international businesses.
Leapifai, founded by Beibei Flynn, offers TaxCopilot, an automated tax research tool that delivers compliance-ready analysis for accountants. The firm envisions a future where every financial transaction receives automatic tax analysis, helping accountancy practices cope with the ongoing shortage of qualified professionals. “Every financial transaction, automatically tax-analysed,” the company states as its long-term objective.
White Spire, established by Ciara Greaney and John Hynes, has created ARC, a platform combining artificial intelligence with expert knowledge to convert invoices into sustainability reports and actionable insights. The company plans international expansion through channel partnerships, bringing faster reporting capabilities to organisations across multiple sectors and borders.
Food and Education Sectors Represented
Garnacha, co-founded by Andrew Brady and Andrea Bustos, produces authentic Mexican salsas designed to position salsa as an everyday ingredient rather than merely a dip. The startup aims to establish itself as Europe’s gateway to genuine Mexican cuisine, with plans to expand beyond salsas into a broader range of authentic Mexican pantry products over the coming decade.
Anytime Creativity, founded by brothers Jack Brophy and Fergal Brophy, operates a collaborative active learning platform that transforms coursework into real-world team challenges. The Enterprise Ireland-supported education technology firm seeks to build the leading platform for collaborative active learning across both education and workforce development sectors.
The National Startup Awards recognise early-stage businesses across Ireland, providing a platform for emerging companies to showcase their innovations and growth potential to investors and industry stakeholders. Category winners alongside the overall National Startup of the Year will receive their honours at the November ceremony, which brings together Ireland’s entrepreneurial community and support organisations.
Reporting based on original coverage by Business Plus.