The Irish Tech News Podcast

🚀New Episode Alert! 🎙️Dive into the world of FinTech with our latest episode of One Vision — the FinTech Fuse. Join Theo and our guest Alex Jimenez, the OG of FinTech OG, as they explore the major themes for 2026 from innovation to governance, as AI and M&A take center stage. Explore how money movement might become ‘invisible’. Tune in for a thought-provoking discussion on the future of AI, digital transformation, and the evolving landscape of the banking industry.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome00:51 Reflecting on 2025: Key FinTech Trends03:22 AI in FinTech: Current State and Future Prospects04:09 Challenges and Considerations in AI Implementation13:27 The Evolution of Banking Industry23:34 Looking Ahead: 2026 and Beyond📍 Hot take: “When you start thinking about the daily experience of digital banking for retail customers … the next wave is conversational.”#AI #FinTech #DigitalTransformation #BankingOnAI #BankingIndustry Find Alex Jimenez on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralexjimenez/ Find Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 🔗 Theo’s latest book: Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence: https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 🔗 About Unconventional Ventures and the One Vision Podcast: https://www.unconventionalventures.com/

The tech skills gap is ever worsening in Ireland, with even large firms struggling to compete with multinationals to snaffle the best professionals. One person who knows all about this is Gillian Whelan, Managing Director and Country Manager of Emagine Ireland. Gillian has tackled the challenge of accessing specialised tech skills with a model she calls ‘Bestshoring’,  bringing together bespoke, global teams for each project, using the best people from the right locations, at the right cost. In other words, building a custom ‘Avengers dream team’ of global experts. I recently caught up with Gillian.Gillian talks about her background, fixing Ireland’s devastating tech skills gap, the need for security by design and more.More about Gillian Whelan:Since joining Aspira in 2017 as a Senior Executive, Gillian has made a significant impact on the business, progressing to head up the very successful Project Management Training Practice within the company. She was subsequently promoted to Chief Commercial Officer in late 2021 and became the natural choice for the leading role, as the consultancy evolves and grows through its strategic partnership with Emagine. Gillian then took over from former Ireland MD Peter Ryan. 

In this episode of One Vision — FinTech Fuse, we took a deep dive into Walmart with Finovate’s very own Julie Muhn. We started with Walmart's bold move to apply for an ILC charter in 2005, their foray into fintech with OnePay, and the wide array of services they now provide beyond retail. The conversation explored Walmart’s integration of emerging technologies like AI and agentic commerce, as well as potential future developments and implications for traditional banks in retaining customer loyalty and trust in an increasingly digital financial landscape.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome01:07 Walmart's Evolution in Financial Services02:43 Walmart's Super App Ambitions03:41 Walmart's Diverse Service Offerings07:15 Challenges and Limitations of Walmart's App11:01 Agentic Commerce and Future Prospects18:31 Behavioral Data and Consumer Trust26:23 Conclusion and Final Thoughts📍Hot take: (Referring to Walmart) They don't just have financial data, they have behavioral data. 📍Hot take: The banking relationship or relationships will be secondary as the AI kind of chooses which payment method to use. #Walmart #Fintech #AI #AgenticCommerce Find Julie Muhn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieschicktanz/ Find Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 🔗 Theo’s latest book: Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence: https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 🔗 About Unconventional Ventures and the One Vision Podcast: https://www.unconventionalventures.com/ 

OpenAI’s new Sora reached approximately 627,000 downloads on iOS in its first week but the milestone quickly turned sour as deepfake videos of celebrities, historical figures, and copyrighted characters flooded social media. Families of Robin Williams and Martin Luther King Jr. have condemned the unauthorised AI re-creations, while studios and estates demand OpenAI protect likeness rights. One person who is well placed to talk about this is Ken Jon Miyachi the Co-Founder of BitMind, a deepfake detection company focusing on social platforms. I recently caught up with Ken and he spoke about his background, deepfakes, AI, social media and more.More about BitMind:BitMind is dedicated to the future of trustworthy, scalable AI. they are building an orchestration layer that accelerates the deployment of AI models across decentralised networks, empowering developers to contribute to groundbreaking projects like Bittensor Subnet 34—the world’s first decentralised deepfake detection system and a keystone of their mission. Through their open-source subnet and API,  BitMind power a suite of applications that deliver unmatched detection fidelity for AI-generated content from social media, search engines, and image hosting platforms, showcasing the transformative potential of decentralised AI.

In this episode of One Vision, Theo hosts Amanda Estiverne-Colas, Director of Payments Practice at Perficient. Amanda shares her journey in financial services, focusing on financial inclusion and fairness by design, as well as the importance of empathy in banking. They also touch on the challenges and opportunities within the financial ecosystem, the need to adapt to changing consumer needs, in order to build a more inclusive future.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome01:25 Amanda's Journey in Financial Services05:39 Empathy and Financial Inclusion06:33 Challenges and Opportunities in FinTech12:19 Global Perspectives and Innovations19:31 Consumer Protection 24:02 Closing Thoughts📍Hot take: “We're focused on automation and efficiency, have we lost the art of relationship building?”📍Hot take:  ”If self-regulation works, then why did we introduce new rules in the last decade or so?” #AI #Fintech #FinancialInclusion #Empathy Find Amanda Estiverne-Colas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-e-37061b28/ Find Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 🔗 Theo’s latest book: Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence: https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 🔗 About Unconventional Ventures and the One Vision Podcast: https://www.unconventionalventures.com/

Halo, the world’s first AI-powered equine performance predictor and insurance platform, launched late last year, redefining how risk is measured and managed in the bloodstock industry. Its insurance capabilities have been developed in conjunction with leading reinsurance broker, Guy Carpenter, and underwriter, Markel. Unlike traditional offerings, Halo integrates real-time predictive analytics with embedded, flexible cover to deliver protection that finally matches how the industry actually operates. I caught up with Neil Sands the Founder of Halo.Neil talks about his background, what Halo does, predicting the horses value, AI and more.More About Halo:Halo is an AI-driven insurtech platform designed for the equine industry. By combining predictive analytics, performance modelling, and embedded insurance, Halo delivers real-time risk insights and tailored protection for horse owners, trainers, and insurers. Its proprietary AI agent, Hailey, provides advanced sales, breeding, and race planning recommendations, making Halo the new intelligence layer for bloodstock. Halo is part of the Fox Design venture studio.

As AI becomes more prominent in our daily lives, it is also reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. So how do Irish  organisations and businesses build a stronger resilience against emerging threats? To find out more about this I spoke to Ivor Buckley Field CTO at Dell Technologies Ireland & Northern Ireland.Ivor talks about his background, multi-cloud, AI, cyber resilience and more.More about Dell Technologies:Dell Technologies is a global team united under a single purpose: to drive human progress through the power of technology. Through AI-powered automation and intelligence, their services help you enhance your IT and end user experiences to maximise innovation end-to-end.

In today’s fast-paced digital world, the way we interact with organizations continues to evolve. In this episode of One Vision — FinTech Fuse, Theo sits down with Charles Oligbo, founder and CEO of Sawport. They discuss how Sawport is filling a gap in the banking experience with virtual branches, enabling customers to engage with their financial institutions without the need for physical visits while still maintaining the personal touch and security needed in today’s world. Banking should be accessible to everyone, anytime, and anywhere. How important is accessibility in banking for you? And what features would you like to see in your experience next? #AI #VirtualBanking #Innovation #CX #DigitalTransformation #BankingTechnology #FinTech  📍Hot take:  Why don't we just take the branch and put it right at their fingertip where they can do everything without having to step out of their house? 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome00:36 Inspiration Behind Sawport01:34 Virtual Branch and Target Market07:33 Challenges and Future Capabilities13:08 Future Vision and AI IntegrationFind Charles Oligbo on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesoligbo/ Find Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 🔗 Theo’s latest book: Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence: https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 🔗 About Unconventional Ventures and the One Vision Podcast: https://www.unconventionalventures.com/

As Christmas time is fast approaching, I thought it would be the right time to catch up with the most famous and busiest person in the world, Santa Claus. Times have changed and Santa has his elves busy in his North Pole workshop using the latest technology to build toys, books and other gifts for boys and girls all over the world. I also caught up with Ruth Roberts the Co-Owner of Cogs Toys and Games who were featured on this year’s Late Late Toy Show, to see what their big sellers will be this Christmas. Here at Irish Tech News we like to promote Irish businesses and its great to see a family owned Irish Toy Shop do so well.Santa Claus and RuthIt’s an interesting fun filled podcast as Santa talks about the technology he uses to help travel around the world on Christmas Eve, Easons best selling kids books, the toys Ruth mentioned, what not to leave out for Rudolf and more. Ruth who is also on the podcast mentions some of their big sellers, Irish made toys and STEM toys too.More about Cogs Toys and Games:Cogs Toys & Games (formerly known as Cogs The Brain Shop) is the definition of a family-run business, run by brother and sister Conor Brady and Ruth Roberts and their cousin Alan Condon. As the ‘Brain’ in the name suggests they sell smart and unique toys, puzzles, games and books for all ages.They also stock a genius collection of fun quality products designed to build better brains and learn through play whatever your age. In the store you can find children’s educational toys, adult brain games, strategy games for children and adults.They have a fantastic, affordable range of clever games, puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, wooden toys, wide range of unique desk toys and brain teasers. Cogs The Brain Shop also supply schools with word skill games, fast talking games, mathematical games, reading games and toys, games which are recommended for dyslexia, games which are recommended for ADHD.

In this episode of One Vision the Fintech Fuse, we chat with Kristen Castell, Managing Director, Fintech CAFE (Center for Accelerating Financial Equity) and Ryan Venderlic, Program Manager at CAFE. The trio discuss the accelerator program's evolution, its focus on financial equity for low to moderate-income communities, and the transformative power of collaboration among founders. Kristen and Ryan also share insights on the impact of AI in fintech and future disruptions in financial services. Tune in to learn how CAFE is fostering mission-driven fintech innovations and supporting their founders post-program.00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome01:17 Insights from the CAFE Accelerator Program03:32 Evolution of the FinTech Ecosystem05:32 Post-Program Support for Alumni and the Founders Circles09:52 Mission-Driven FinTech and Challenges13:21 The Role of AI in FinTech17:24 Future Disruptions in Financial Services#AI #Fintech #FinancialServices #FinancialInclusion #BankingIndustry 📍 Hot Take: “Amazing people is Number One for us.”Find Kristen Castell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kriscastell/   Find Ryan Venderlic on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-venderlic-b6964458/   Find Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 🔗 Theo’s latest book: Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence: https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 🔗 About Unconventional Ventures and the One Vision Podcast: https://www.unconventionalventures.com/