The Irish Tech News Podcast

Not a day goes by when we don’t hear something about artificial intelligence (AI). From deploying generative AI in the newsroom to using AI to help improve sustainability, there is no shortage of energy and buzz around the emerging technology. When we come to think of it, AI is, and has been, all around us. From the moment we pick up our smartphone and authenticate via thumbprint or facial recognition, check our emails and news feeds, to navigating traffic and boarding, our day-to-day experience is already greatly shaped by AI. In this episode of One Vision, Theo chats with Tim Lebel, VP and Head of Spend Products at SAP Concur, on how organizations can drive towards a data-driven and intelligent future in spend management with AI.

Online payment is one of the latest activities to be transformed by smartphone technology, as more and more consumers opt for the convenience of their mobile device to complete transactions. According to a Statista survey from December 2021, 33 percent of respondents said they purchased via the mobile channel every day or week. Donal McGuinnes CEO Prommt believes that smartphone technology still has a greater role to play in business transactions, particularly where risky over-the-phone solutions are being employed.  Ronan talks to Donal about Revolut, how smartphones have changed the way we think about payment, payments over the phone, open banking and more. More about Donal McGuiness: Serial entrepreneur Donal McGuinness is CEO of Prommt. He studied Computer Science at DCU and Telecommunications Engineering at DIT and spent the early years of his career in the telecommunications industry. His experience in mobile payments dates to 1999 when he founded his first mobile payments company, ItsMobile. Donal was also a Non-Executive Director of the Irish Internet Association from 2009 to 2011 and a movie distribution business from 2002 to 2020. In 2016 Donal joined a silicon valley startup in the identity verification space called Danal inc, where he set up and grew the global business outside of the USA as General Manager of EMEA until 2019 when the business was acquired by Boku Inc for $112 million USD. Donal joined Prommt as CEO in 2019. He is an innovator and is passionate about payment innovation.

This Thursday the 17th of August, Patch, the youth accelerator supported by Stripe, NDRC, and Dogpatch Labs has its latest demo day. To find out more about this Ronan recently sat down with Jack O'Regan Kenny, the Managing Director of Patch. Jack talks about his background, what Patch does, the current Patch program, AI, Patch demo day and more. More about Patch: Patch is a 7-week summer accelerator programme for 16-21-year-olds. The non-profit programme is supported by Stripe, NDRC, and Dogpatch Labs, and is dedicated to providing an environment that nurtures innovation, social entrepreneurship, and creativity for Ireland’s brightest young adults. It also provides them with the guidance and leadership required to take their ideas to the next level.

Recently Ronan got to chat with Kunal Anand the CISO/ CTO at Imperva, a leading provider of data and application security solutions with Database Security, Web Application Firewall, DDoS Protection, Bot Protection. Kunal talks about his background, innovation, short term disruption, AI, empathy, transhumanism and more.  More about Kunal Anand: Kunal Anand is the is the CISO/ CTO at Imperva and also the co-founder and CTO of Prevoty, a next-generation web application security platform. Prior to that, he was the Director of Technology at the BBC Worldwide, overseeing engineering and operations across the company’s global Digital Entertainment and Gaming initiatives.  Kunal also has several years of experience leading security, data and engineering at Gravity, MySpace and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. His work has been featured in Wired Magazine and Fast Company. He continues to develop the patented security technologies that power Prevoty’s core products.

This week on The Futurists we get to engage with one of the world's foremost experts in hydrology, the study of Water, and the relationship of water to emerging climate change. Gleick is considered one of the world's foremost experts in the arena, and while things look bleak in the medium term, we get solidly into the long future of water and the tools at our disposal for water mitigation and geo-engineering. We also check out Peter's latest book the Three Ages of WaterBIO - https://www.gleick.com/#about 

In this episode Melanie Boylan chats with Dr Andrew Woods, Founder and CEO of Catagen. They chat about his passion of decarbonisation. His team has found several successful ways to manipulate various methods of technology to reduce carbon. Listen in for his innovative approach. Point of note, Andrew Woods has recently been selected as one of 24 finalists for this year’s EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards. Andrew founded CATAGEN in 2010, successfully spinning it out of Queen’s University Belfast with Professor Roy Douglas CTO.  He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Automotive Catalysis.   Andrew has built an award winning team whose purpose is to clean and decarbonise the air.  From initially providing world-class emissions testing to the automotive sector, the company is now developing advanced testing for heavy duty diesel and industrial catalysts.    This expertise in emissions data and simulation, the development of energy efficient chemical reactor technologies, IP and knowledge has given CATAGEN a vantage point for new net zero technologies.  This has led to the development of ClimaHtech – an acceleration system towards decarbonisation using advanced climate technologies.  In 2022, CATAGEN successfully received five funding awards from the UK’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to develop new technologies in renewable hydrogen production (not electrolysis), e-fuels, carbon capture and compression technologies.  www.catagen.com/climahtech

As we move from one tech cycle to another, so much has changed — yet so much has not. We are still faced with many of the same challenges especially when it comes to caregiving and true inclusion. How do we separate hype from reality — and how do we know what is real and what isn’t? What is the best path forward to ensure companies innovate responsibly and what is the government’s role in a free market economy? In this new episode of One Vision, Theo chat with Mia Shah-Dand (and her ‘research assistant cat’ Han Solo) — CEO of Lighthouse3 and Founder of Women in AI Ethics on her journey from Silicon Valley to the Big Apple, and her mission on bringing new voices from outside the tech bubble to make the invisible visible. Let’s work together to empower more users with the resources necessary to bridge the knowledge divide, so that they too can make the right decisions for themselves. Let’s keep pushing for change: There is power in solidarity.

In this podcast Melanie Boylan speaks with Chris Kelly of EasyGo about how the Irish mindset has shifted over the last few years. We hear how local councils, hotels and workplaces are embracing this change. Listen in for some myth busting chat! Chris Kelly is a visionary entrepreneur and the co-founder of EasyGo, a cutting-edge transportation technology company based in Kildare. With a passion for sustainable mobility and a deep understanding of the evolving transportation landscape, Chris has been at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to e-mobility challenges for the last eight years.   Chris' journey in e-mobility began with his keen interest in sustainable urban and smart city solutions. He quickly recognised the need for a more efficient and eco-friendly approach to transportation, and together with his co-founders, he launched EasyGo. Under his leadership, EasyGo has become a leading player in the transportation sector, offering seamless and sustainable mobility solutions through its innovative app-based platform. With a track record of success in developing and implementing disruptive transportation technologies, Chris has become a recognised thought leader in the industry. Beyond his work with EasyGo, Chris is also a sought-after speaker on topics related to sustainable mobility, smart cities, and clean technologies. He is committed to driving positive change in the transportation industry and advocating for environmentally responsible solutions that make a meaningful impact on the world.

In today's Podcast Melanie Boylan welcomes back Tom McCarthy as he brings us up to speed with the latest on Motiv Space Systems work with NASA's upcoming Artemis Project. When they last spoke in 2021, they were chatting about Space Robots and Space Debris! Tom McCarthy is the Vice President of Business Development and Co-Founder of Motiv Space Systems.  In his role, he focuses on developing novel, robust, and reliable motion control and robotic-centric applications for space to support future science and exploration missions.  He has more than 25 years of industry experience, including 11 years at JPL as an electronics engineer, designing computing and controls architectures for rovers and robotic systems for extreme environments. Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Notre Dame. NASA's Artemis Programme COLDArm

Since the pandemic in 2020, digital transformation has been adopted by a lot of businesses as remote and hybrid working became the norm. So, how does a business go about doing this?  A good example of this is when Dublin-based  ALS Identify recently replaced their legacy comms system with a new Rainbow UC system from Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. Ronan talks to Taj Ginda, Channel Sales Manager at Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise and Pat Phibbs, General Manager ALS Identity about the steps taken in ALS Identify’s digital transformation..Taj and Pat explain why ALS Identify replaced their legacy comms system and how Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise installed a new Rainbow UC system to replace it. More about Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise: Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise makes everything connect by delivering technology that works for you. Their vision is to deliver the customised technology experiences their customers need. Their mission is to make everything connect by delivering digital age networking, communications and cloud solutions with services tailored for their customers business success. In the Cloud. On Premises. Hybrid.