Ekco has launched Ekco AI, an AI governance and Shadow AI management platform backed by a €4 million internal investment, enabling businesses to identify AI applications in use across their organisation, set access controls and block unapproved tools.

Ekco is a Dublin-founded, Corten Capital-backed security-first managed service provider (MSSP) founded in 2015 by Eoin Blacklock and Jonathan Crowe, operating across Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands with approximately 1,000 employees and group revenues of approximately €200 million. Ekco has executed eight acquisitions in three years, including Datalogix, Predatech, Solsoft, Adapt IT and CTS Group, building a security division generating approximately €100 million of the group top line. The €4 million Ekco AI investment is self-funded from operational cash flow.

The structural driver is the EU AI Act's transparency provisions, which came into force on 2 August 2026 and impose obligations on AI deployers, including businesses using AI tools within their operations, to maintain records, assess risks and implement governance measures. Ekco's own research finding a typical business has 28 AI applications in use reflects documented enterprise reality: the majority of those applications are not procured or approved through IT governance channels.

Ekco AI addresses that by connecting to existing endpoint security telemetry such as Microsoft Defender to identify AI application network traffic at metadata level without inspecting content, a privacy-by-design approach that satisfies GDPR's legitimate interest provisions for corporate device monitoring.

The platform also supports NIS2 and DORA compliance reporting, extending Ekco AI's addressable market beyond AI governance into the broader regulatory compliance tooling market where Ekco already has established enterprise relationships.

For the sector, an Irish MSSP launching a purpose-built Shadow AI governance platform ahead of EU AI Act implementation positions Ekco as an early-mover in a compliance category that every EU-regulated business will need to address in 2026 and 2027.

Source: independent.ie / ek.co / channelweb.co.uk / getlatka.com