Ekco bets €4M on taming 'shadow AI' inside businesses
What's the deal? Ekco has invested €4 million in Ekco AIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a platform that helps organisations adopt AI securely while keeping visibility and control over its use. It aims to encourage safe experimentation and save businesses €2 million for every €10 million of operating costs by lifting employee productivity.
Why now? Ekco's research found a typical business may have as many as 28 AI applications in use — a 'shadow AI' blind spot where employers do not know which tools are running or how company data is handled.
What's the endgame? The platform lets organisations see what applications are being used, set guardrails, block hazardous tools, and cut the risk of sensitive data landing on unsanctioned systems. It also provides role-based training on Microsoft CopilotDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, ClaudeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and other tools, plus separate awareness training on data protection and AI-related risks.
The problem it targets: Cian Prendergast, chief executive officer of Ekco MSP, said businesses are no longer asking whether employees will use AI but "how they can stop that activity becoming a blind spot." He added that a blanket ban "is not an effective answer because people may simply continue using the tools they already know."
The pitch: Steve MacNicholas, chief executive officer of Ekco IrelandDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, said businesses "won't truly get value from AI until they and their employees feel comfortable using it and experimenting with it." He argued that organisations "generous with AI" — equipping staff with safe, useful tools — have the fewest problems with harmful platforms. Ekco says the goal is to give customers up to a 50% strategic advantage over competitors within three years.
The signal: As employees adopt AI faster than employers can govern it, vendors are moving from restriction to managed enablement — offering oversight and approved options rather than bans, and betting that visibility, not prohibition, is where the market is heading.
Read more: TechCentral
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
