The Irish Tech News Podcast

As insurers move beyond AI experimentation towards enterprise-wide transformation, industry leaders are increasingly focused on one question: how do you scale AI to deliver measurable operational impact?  This was one of the challenges explored at the recent InsTech.ie Transformation Summit 2026 and to find out more about this I caught up with Gary Leyden, CEO of InsTech.ie.
Gary talks to me about  about his background, AI adoption, insurance transformation, and the trends shaping the future of the sector. 
More about InsTech.ie:
InsTech.ie was formally established as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee in November 2021. Since then they’ve been helping their members and insurtechs to connect, collaborate and build capability. 
In 2024 InsTech.ie was selected  to receive funding under the Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme to help support the growth and development of our insurtech cluster. This funding will help us to maximise enterprise collaboration and stimulate the growth and development of the insurtech cluster in Ireland.

In this episode of One Vision Podcast, Theo chats with Huyen Tran from US Bank and founder/investor at Elys Ventures. Huyen shares her path from computer engineering and early real-estate investing to two decades in banking product leadership and P&L ownership. She discusses why banks can appear slow due to resilience, regulation, legacy systems, and trust requirements, and how AI will accelerate prototyping, testing, data analysis, and iterative product development while meeting customer expectations for personalization and security amid rising fraud. 
A must-listen episode on startup, innovation, relationship building, and ecosystem thinking.
 
🔥"What value are you creating for everyone involved? ...Just don't forget about the people."

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Keywords: AI, Fintech, FinancialServices, VC, Startups, Banking Industry 

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro
00:53 Path to Banking
05:17 Are Banks Really Slow?
08:09 AI Changing Bank Product
10:39 Customer Expectations and Trust
13:27 Inside Elys Ventures
14:18 Moats in the AI Era
18:37 Founder Questions and Cycles
20:27 Advice for New Founders
23:41 Closing 

More about our guest 
🌐Huyen Tran on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/huyen-tran-09a580aa/ 

More about our host and One Vision Podcast 
🌐Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 
🌐Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (book): https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 
🌐Unconventional Ventures (company): https://www.unconventionalventures.com/ 
🌐Listen to all One Vision Podcast episodes by visiting: https://shows.acast.com/one-vision 
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The Local Enterprise Awards for 2026 taok place recently in the Mansion House in Dublin. The awards are a celebration of the very best small businesses from across the country and serve to highlight the work that Local Enterprise Offices are doing with up-and-coming enterprises in every local authority area in the country.
The 31 finalists have each been chosen by their Local Enterprise Office to represent them and their area at the awards, which are in their 26th year. The finalists feature a diverse mix of sectors and founders all competing for a share of the €80,000 prize fund and the chance to be named National Enterprise of the Year. There are also regional awards, and categories for Best Start-Up, Best Export Business, the Innovation Award, Digital Award, Green Award and the Female Entrepreneur award.
I caught up with three of the finalists, and the third finalist I spoke to was Dean Kelly  one of the co-founders of Photo Experience and the Offaly finalist won the Digital Award at the National Enterprise Awards. Dean talks to me about his background, what Photo Experience does, Covid, AI, National Enterprise Awards, LEO and more.
More about Photo Experience:
Photo Experience designs and installs technology-driven photography systems for theme parks, water parks, zoos, museums, and other visitor attractions. The technology combines hardware, software and operational know-how to capture guest experiences in real time and provide instant images.
The business currently employees four full time members of staff. Photo Experience is designed to address both guest experience but also the commercial aspect, allowing experience photography to be easily accessed, bought and sold.

The Local Enterprise Awards for 2026 taok place recently in the Mansion House in Dublin. The awards are a celebration of the very best small businesses from across the country and serve to highlight the work that Local Enterprise Offices are doing with up-and-coming enterprises in every local authority area in the country.

The 31 finalists have each been chosen by their Local Enterprise Office to represent them and their area at the awards, which are in their 26th year. The finalists feature a diverse mix of sectors and founders all competing for a share of the €80,000 prize fund and the chance to be named National Enterprise of the Year. There are also regional awards, and categories for Best Start-Up, Best Export Business, the Innovation Award, Digital Award, Green Award and the Female Entrepreneur award.
I caught up with three of the finalists, and the second finalist I spoke to was Stephen O’Sullivan the founder of I left you a note and the Tipperary finalist. Stephen talks to me about his background, what I left you a note does, digital concierge, AI, National Enterprise Awards, LEO and more 
More about  I left you a note:
I left you a note was founded by Stephen O’Sullivan, a former Deputy Chief Actuary at Met Life, Stephen wanted to address the problem modern hotels are having in the fact that customers ‘no longer complain to the front desk’ but rather are quick to write a bad review online.
Stephen estimates that a bad review can cost hotels up to €15,000 in lost bookings per month. I Left You A Note aims to address that gap in communication to an online B2B SaaS platform which allows guests to connect with the front desk of hotels instantly through scanning QR codes located across the hotel.
The portal opens instantly on any phone and allows guests to submit feedback, raise service requests, interact with an AI concierge, and access hotel facilities and room service with one click. When an issue is raised, AI triages it, creates a service ticket and routes it automatically to the correct department.

Anthony Sar, Co-founder and CEO of Finoverse and the driving force behind Hong Kong Fintech Week, joins Theo on One Vision to share the story behind one of Asia's most iconic innovation gatherings. From a bar conversation about hitting 5,000 attendees (when they had 300) to welcoming 45,000 people from 120+ economies at their 10th anniversary, Anthony reflects on what it takes to build something that genuinely keeps people in the room.
At the center of the conversation is Samantha, built in-house by Finoverse. She acts as your personal AI networking agent. She interviews you, learns what you're looking for, and makes introductions at scale. After a successful pilot at last year’s FinTech Week as well as the recent Genesis Festival, Samantha will return to Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026 this November.  
This year’s conference is aptly themed Fintech Nexus: Bridging the World, Building the Future. It is a rallying call to drive connectivity and collaboration across global and Chinese Mainland markets, at a time when the world feels more fragmented than ever.
One World, One Planet. This episode invites us to come together to foster collaboration for a more inclusive financial services ecosystem for everyone. 

🔥 Hot Take: "AI can't have coffee with you. It can't go for a hike. It can't watch a comedy with you." 
🔥 Hot Take: “There's so much happening in mainland China and Asia that the rest of the world simply doesn't see." 

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

Keywords: AI, Fintech, FinancialServices, Startups, Hong Kong

Timestamps
00:00 Welcome and Introductions
02:59 A decade of Finoverse and Hong Kong Fintech Week 
07:39 Introducing Samantha: The AI Host
10:13 The Future of Events and Networking
19:07 How AI Makes Human Connection More Valuable, Not Less
27:55 Hong Kong Fintech Week 2026: Fintech Nexus: Bridging the World, Building the Future
33:01 Closing Thoughts: One World, One Planet

More about our guest 
🌐Anthony Sar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonysar/ 
🌐FinTech Week Hong Kong: https://www.fintechweek.hk/ 
More about our host and One Vision Podcast 
🌐Theodora Lau on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodoralau/ 
🌐Banking on (Artificial) Intelligence (book): https://www.bankingonaibook.com/ 
🌐Unconventional Ventures (company): https://www.unconventionalventures.com/ 
🌐Listen to all One Vision Podcast episodes by visiting: https://shows.acast.com/one-vision