AI and talk of an IPO formed the undercurrent of this year’s Dublin Tech Summit. The event, which brings together global leaders in innovation, technology and business, took place in Ireland’s capital last month, from the 28th to the 29th of May.
The event has developed considerably since it first launched in 2017. Although crowds were seemingly smaller, it featured a higher quality of speakers. The 2025 list included Guillaume Princen, Head of EMEA at Anthropic, Stewart Copeland from The Police, Grace Beverley, founder of TALA and SHREDDY, and Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI, among others.
Artificial Intelligence formed the heart of on-stage discussions, with a panel focused on unlocking AI’s potential. Fergal Reid, VP of AI at Intercom, was one of many key speakers. Describing AI as an existential change, he listed some of his concerns about rapidly progressing innovation. He also mentioned The EU Artificial Intelligence Act, which was brought into force in August last year.
Designed to provide a high level of protection for people’s health, safety and fundamental rights, the bill was also introduced to promote the adoption of human-centric, trustworthy AI. Its initial aim was to provide a harmonised regulatory framework for AI systems placed on the market or deployed anywhere in the EU. Speaking about the act, Reid said it is extremely complex and that he wasn’t confident it would have the necessary impact. Meanwhile, Guillaume Princen, Head of EMEA with Anthropic, put an emphasis on AI safety and responsibility of use. He advised the crowds to put safety at the heart of everything and added that, in his mind, the world is fast approaching a “digital renaissance.”
Another highlight of the event was the news that OpenAI could eventually go public. Speaking onstage, ChatGPT-maker, OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, commented, “A PBC gets us to an IPO-able event … nobody tweets in this room that Sarah Friar just said anything about OpenAI ultimately going public, I did not. I said it could happen.” In addition, she was asked what could influence OpenAI to forge ahead, to which she replied that to be a public company, you need some sense of predictability. “The market will put up with a certain degree of unpredictability. Particularly when growth is high … but the market doesn’t really love it.”
Agentic AI, Scaling AI for Global Impact, Redefining Work, Creativity, and Leadership, the Future of Digital Humanism and more also formed discussions. With over 8,000 attendees and 250 international speakers from 150 countries, the event was marginally smaller than previous years, something that could prove a sign of cutbacks across the tech sector. Nevertheless, the date for next year’s Dublin Tech Summit has also been announced, with tech leaders taking to Dublin’s fair city from the 27th to the 28th of May.
