DAIR Awards 2026

Celebrating Data, Analytics & AI
innovation across the Nordics

DAIR Awards 2026

Celebrating Data, Analytics & AI
innovation across the Nordics

Apply to the nordic dair awards 2026

Recognizing Organizational Excellence in Data & AI

For the fifth year in a row, we are proud to organize the annual Data and AI Readiness (DAIR) Awards. Traditionally held as a standalone event, this year marks a new chapter as the awards are integrated into the flagship Data Innovation Summit program. With the DAIR Awards, we celebrate some of the most forward-thinking organizations and transformative data and AI projects across the Nordic region. By bringing the awards into the main summit, we not only raise the visibility of organisation excellence but also embed recognition into the heart of the region’s most influential data and AI community gathering.

About the Awards

The DAIR Awards (Data and AI Readiness Awards) recognize organizations that lead the way in using data, analytics, and AI to drive measurable business and societal impact. Focused on organization achievements, the awards highlight companies that demonstrate strategic vision, innovation, mpact and maturity in their data, analytics and AI practices. Through the recognition of real-world success stories, the DAIR Awards aim to accelerate the adoption of data-driven technologies, inspire others to follow best practices, and benchmark progress across the Nordic region’s most advanced organizations.

apply to the nordic dair awards 2026

Timeline and process

2026 DAIR Categories

Submitted projects must have been initiated or implemented within the past 12 months and must not have been entered in previous DAIR Award competitions, unless they represent a clear and measurable extension of a previously recognized project with a defined new phase or scope.

Data and AI Transformation Excellence Award

The award recognizes an organization that has successfully executed a l arge-scale data and AI transformation, aligning strategy, people, and technology to drive measurable business impact. This award honors organizations that have embedded data and AI into the core of their operations, culture, and decision-making processes. The winning organization should demonstrate a clear vision, governance, and long-term results, setting a benchmark for enterprise-wide transformation and data-driven leadership in the Nordic region.

AI-Driven Business Excellence Award (Private Sector)

The award recognizes a private-sector enterprise that has effectively leveraged artificial intelligence to create tangible business value and competitive advantage. This award honors initiatives that translate AI innovation into measurable outcomes such as improved efficiency, enhanced customer experience, or accelerated growth. The winning organization should demonstrate how AI has been strategically integrated into business functions, proving its ability to deliver sustainable value and shape the organization’s long-term direction.

AI-Driven Business Excellence Award (Public Sector)

The award recognizes a public-sector organization that has successfully applied artificial intelligence to improve public services, operational efficiency, or citizen engagement. This award honors projects that use AI and analytics to enhance decision-making, increase transparency, and deliver measurable value to society. The winning organization should demonstrate how AI has been responsibly and strategically embedded into operations, setting a benchmark for data-driven public innovation and service excellence.

Data Management Innovation Award

Technical AI Innovation of the Year

The award recognizes a company, startup, enterprise or organization, that has introduced a technically novel AI innovation such as a new model, framework, or process that has influenced the broader industry. This award honors breakthroughs in AI development that have moved from experimentation to recognized standard practice, significantly shaping how organizations build or apply AI today. The winning innovation should demonstrate originality, scalability, and proven adoption or influence, setting a new benchmark for technical excellence in AI.

Disruptor of the Year

The award recognizes a company, startup or organization, that has boldly challenged industry norms through data and AI, introducing disruptive ideas, technologies, or business models with measurable impact. This award celebrates creativity, agility, and transformation that redefine market standards or inspire new directions in AI-driven innovation. The winning organization should demonstrate a combination of novelty, ambition, and proven results, earning the recognition of both peers and the broader data and AI community.

Lifetime Achievement in AI

A practitioner who has made a substantial contribution to the Data, Analytics, and AI research and enterprise maturity development across the Nordic region, demonstrated outstanding mentorship and example to others, and provided noteworthy service to the community

Data and AI Transformation Excellence Award

The award recognizes an organization that has successfully executed a large-scale data and AI transformation, aligning strategy, people, and technology to drive measurable business impact. This award honors enterprises that have embedded data and AI into the core of their operations, culture, and decision-making processes. The winning organization should demonstrate a clear vision, governance, and long-term results, setting a benchmark for enterprise-wide transformation and data-driven leadership in the Nordic region.

AI-Driven Business Excellence Award (Private Sector)

AI-Driven Business Excellence Award (Public Sector)

Data Management Innovation Award

The award recognizes an organization that has implemented a modern and effective data management strategy that delivers measurable business value and enables innovation. This award honors initiatives that have introduced novel approaches to data governance, architecture, or lifecycle management, resulting in significant improvements in data quality, accessibility, and trust. The winning organization should demonstrate clear ROI and impact through how strong data foundations accelerate analytics and AI adoption across the enterprise.

Technical AI Innovation of the Year

The award recognizes a company, startup, or enterprise that has introduced a technically novel AI innovation, such as a new model, framework, or process, that has influenced the broader industry. This award honors breakthroughs in AI development that have moved from experimentation to recognized standard practice, significantly shaping how organizations build or apply AI today. The winning innovation should demonstrate originality, scalability, and proven adoption or influence, setting a new benchmark for technical excellence in AI.

Disruptor of the Year

The award recognizes a company, startup or enterprise, that has boldly challenged industry norms through data and AI, introducing disruptive ideas, technologies, or business models with measurable impact. This award celebrates creativity, agility, and transformation that redefine market standards or inspire new directions in AI-driven innovation. The winning organization should demonstrate a combination of novelty, ambition, and proven results, earning the recognition of both peers and the broader data and AI community.

Lifetime Achievement in AI

Apply to the nordic dair awards 2026

Why Apply?

Participating in the DAIR Awards 2026 is an opportunity to showcase your organization’s achievements, gain regional and international visibility, and benchmark your progress among the most innovative organizations in the Nordics.

Winning or being shortlisted places you in the company of a few leading organizations and innovators who are setting new standards in how Data and AI create business and societal value.

Winning or being shortlisted provides: