Dimply Wins the 2026 Interceltic Startup Challenge

LORIENT, France — Irish fintech Dimply has been named the overall winner of the 2026 Interceltic Startup Challenge, following a live pitch competition at the 10th Interceltic Business Forum in Lorient, Brittany.

The award was presented by Frank Feighan, Ireland's Minister of State, in front of an audience of entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders and policymakers from across the Celtic nations.

Representing Ireland, Dimply impressed the judging panel with its no-code Financial Experience Platform, enabling banks, insurers and pension providers to design, personalise and launch digital customer journeys without lengthy engineering cycles. The company also showcased Holi, its AI-powered assistant that delivers personalised financial guidance using real customer data and calculation engines rather than AI-generated assumptions.

Together, Dimply's vision of empowering product teams, accelerating digital transformation and combining no-code technology with practical AI innovation earned the company the top prize in this year's competition.

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What is the Interceltic Startup Challenge?

The Interceltic Startup Challenge is an annual competition that brings together one outstanding startup from each Celtic nation and region to compete on an international stage during the Interceltic Business Forum.

More than a startup competition, the Challenge gives founders the opportunity to present their company to an audience of investors, corporate leaders, policymakers and fellow entrepreneurs while building new partnerships across the Celtic world.

Each participating region selects one startup to represent its innovation ecosystem, showcasing the diversity and strength of entrepreneurship emerging from Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales.

The 2025 Interceltic Startup Challenge was won by Hertzian, representing Cornwall. The deep-tech company impressed judges with its breakthrough RF sensing technology and has continued to build momentum since its victory, demonstrating the long-term value of the competition and the opportunities created through the Interceltic Business Forum network.

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Reinventing financial experiences

Dimply was founded by a team that spent years helping banks, insurers and pension providers deliver digital transformation projects.

Time and again, they saw promising customer ideas become trapped in engineering backlogs, with new digital experiences taking months—or even years—to reach customers.

Dimply was created to change that.

Its Financial Experience Platform enables product managers, designers and business teams to build, personalise, manage and publish customer journeys themselves using natural language and intuitive no-code tools.

The platform is built around three complementary products:

• Experience Builder, allowing teams to describe and launch customer journeys without code.
• Micro-apps, embedding personalised financial experiences exactly where customers need them.
• Holi, an AI-powered assistant that answers customer questions using real financial data and calculation engines, delivering accurate, personalised responses rather than AI-generated assumptions.

By removing engineering bottlenecks, Dimply enables financial institutions to innovate faster, reduce development time and deliver more personalised customer experiences at scale.

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A showcase for Celtic innovation

The 2026 Interceltic Startup Challenge highlighted the remarkable diversity of innovation taking place across the Celtic nations.

This year's finalists were:

• Dimply — Ireland
• SailToo — Brittany
• Voxmar — Cornwall
• weeteq — Scotland
• Memory Lane Games — Isle of Man
• emwillcare — Wales

Together, they showcased breakthrough ideas spanning financial technology, maritime communications, semiconductor innovation, digital health and community platforms, demonstrating that world-class startups are emerging from every corner of the Celtic world.

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Looking ahead

Winning the Interceltic Startup Challenge represents far more than a trophy.

It opens the door to new conversations with investors, potential customers and strategic partners while joining a growing community of founders connected through the Interceltic Business Forum.

The Interceltic Business Forum congratulates Jac Dunne and the entire Dimply team on this outstanding achievement and looks forward to following the company's continued growth as it expands internationally.

The Forum also congratulates all six regional finalists, whose ambition, innovation and collaborative spirit once again demonstrated the strength of entrepreneurship across the Celtic nations.

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Meet Jac Dunne, CEO of Dimply

Discover how Dimply is transforming digital customer experiences for financial institutions, the story behind its AI assistant Holi, and why representing Ireland at the Interceltic Startup Challenge was such a proud moment for the team.

Read the full interview with Jac Dunne.

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