KPMG Global Tech Innovator 2021

Tech innovators of today. Titans of tomorrow.

In 2021, KPMG held its inaugural Global Tech Innovator competition, with the final taking place in Lisbon, Portugal during Web Summit on 2^nd November.

The global competition was ultimately won by Brazilian agtech company, Krilltech Nano, led by Diego Stone Aires, who battled it out with 17 other start-ups nominated by KPMG member-firms from across the globe. Krilltech develops nanobiotech solutions to increase crop productivity and quality in an economical and environmentally sustainable manner - assisting plant growth and plant health as well as shielding them from climate change.

Terry Canning from CattleEye represented Ireland and faced stiff competition from over 50 tech innovators across Ireland to represent the country at the final in Lisbon. CattleEye harness the capabilities of advanced AI in video analytics to deliver the world’s first academically verified autonomous livestock monitoring platform.

2021 Global final

Finalists from 17 countries battled it out to be crowned the winner of the inaugural Global Tech Innovator. Participating countries and jurisdictions include: South Africa, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Great Britain, USA, Qatar.

Diego Stone Aires of Krilltech from Brazil ultimately won the the Global Tech Innovator 2021 final

2021 Irish finalists – watch the playback

Eight Irish tech start-ups battled it out at the inaugural Ireland qualifier of the KPMG Global Tech Innovator competition. The shortlisted companies were selected from almost 50 entries and had just 6 minutes each to pitch their innovations and growth ambitions to an esteemed panel of judges.

The shortlisted companies from Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Galway, offer solutions in areas including fintech, medtech, regtech and agtech, using technologies in blockchain, IoT, AI and machine learning.

Akkure Genomics – a fintech powered medical data exchange trading platform where individuals unlock the value of their data to access clinical trials and precision medical services. The platform ‘matchmaking’ aims to increase the recruitment and retention of patients participating in clinical trials, along with access to personalised clinical services.

ApisProtect – brings ground-breaking technology to commercial and hobbyist beekeepers. Headquartered in Cork, capitalising on innovative and award-winning academic research, ApisProtect uses cutting-edge science, engineering, and advanced business processes to bring honey bee-saving technology to every corner of the globe.

CattleEye – a Belfast-founded company harnessing the capabilities of advanced AI in video analytics to deliver the world’s first academically verified autonomous livestock monitoring platform. It provides a completely new way of monitoring and gaining insights on dairy cows simply by walking them under a security camera.

CitySwift – a Galway-based software company that digitises bus networks. The platform uses big data, AI and machine learning to increase network performance, service reliability and passenger satisfaction. Bus operators can instantly visualise metrics which inform efficiency, demand and predict journey times and capacity levels.

Dataships - specialising in automating compliance for data protection and privacy laws. The company has brought a unique software-as-a-service (SaaS) product to market that helps companies build trust with their customers and automate their data protection compliance.

Equal1 - specialising in the design and build of quantum computers that will enable the world to solve problems that cannot be solved today at a fraction of the energy. It has the vision of democratising quantum computing and making it available to everyone. The scalable, cost-effective technology provides a quantum computing path that will impact the trajectory of AI.

ID-Pal - an off-the-shelf, end-to-end KYC solution, which verifies the identity of an individual in real-time across any customer channel. The ISO 27001 certified SaaS solution ensures best practice AML and GDPR compliance out-of-the-box using a suite of biometric document and database checks.

Wrkit - specialising in the creation of better, healthier working environments using an online suite of data driven employee engagement & retention tools. The platform aims to enhance its customer benefit proposition to improve financial performance and deliver superior employee retention figures.