In particular, the accelerator is looking for AI start-ups that are actively raising and aiming to close their funding rounds in 2026.
Start-up hub NovaUCD and CeADAR, Ireland’s Centre for AI, are looking for AI start-ups in Ireland to participate in their upcoming AI accelerator programme.
Now in its third year, the AI Ecosystem Accelerator programme will take place at University College Dublin (UCD), delivered as part of CeADAR’s European Digital Innovation Hub programme which supports Irish start-ups and SMEs innovating with AI.
This six-month accelerator is designed to support promising “AI-first” start-ups from the country to accelerate their commercial traction for global markets, and become investment-ready and scalable.
The programme is particularly interested in start-ups actively raising and aiming to close their funding rounds in 2026, a statement from the organisers read.
The accelerator commences this April and concludes with an investor showcase event, connecting founders with investors and strategic partners.
The AI Ecosystem Accelerator offers commercial, fundraising and technical supports, including guidance from CeADAR’s experts around data strategy, model evaluation and AI deployment readiness.
Participants will also receive support from experienced commercial mentors and practical workshops to improve their business’ value proposition refinement, scaling and investor readiness.
20 start-ups – including NestiFi, TrojanTrack, UniDoodle and UnitMode – have completed the programme in the past two years.
“This year’s programme is designed as a conversion engine, supporting ambitious, AI-first start-ups that already have market validation or live pilots underway and are now focused on accelerating traction and closing a funding round in 2026,” said Michelle Doyle, the senior manager of strategic innovation partnerships at NovaUCD.
“We encourage founders who are building globally scalable AI products across a range of sectors including, healthcare, cybersecurity, education, sustainability, finance, content creation, supply chain and customer service, to apply and become part of our growing ecosystem of high-potential entrepreneurs.”
Stephen O’Dwyer, the founder of TrojanTrack, who won the One to Watch Award at the tail end of the 2025 programme, said: “I would highly recommend the AI Ecosystem Accelerator programme to entrepreneurs who wish to advance their AI-first start-ups through the programme’s excellent and dedicated technical and commercial supports.
“We found our participation on last year’s programme to be brilliant, we learned a huge amount from the NovaUCD and CeADAR teams, programme facilitators, mentors and fellow start-up participants.
“We came away from the programme with sharper thinking, real connections and great momentum for TrojanTrack as we begin to close our €1.3m seed round.”
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