TechFinitive Awards 2026 – Emerging Technology Excellence

Emerging technologies are often judged on their promise. The harder test is whether they can solve problems that existing tools struggle to address. The five finalists in the Emerging Technology Excellence category at the TechFinitive Awards 2026 offer examples of that shift, applying AI to physical security and emergency response, making quantum computing more accessible, and using simple smartphone interactions to help verify medicines. Their work spans very different fields, but each demonstrates how new approaches can be put to practical use rather than left at the experimental stage.

The shortlisted solutions range from AI agents that can interpret plain-English instructions to identify security risks, and tools designed to stop sensitive information being shared inadvertently, to technology that makes quantum computing more accessible. Elsewhere, smartphone-readable NFC chips offer a straightforward way to check the authenticity of prescription medicines, while AI-powered emergency response tools provide real-time translation of calls in more than 90 languages. Together, the finalists illustrate how emerging technologies can tackle specific challenges in business, healthcare and public safety. You can read more about what our judges had to say about each submission here (scroll below).

Without further ado, the nominees for Emerging Technology Excellence in 2026 are:

• Brivo
• Ent
• Haiqu
• NPC Labs
• RapidSOS

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Here’s what our judges had to say about the nominees

Brivo

Brivo’s Eeva AI agent caught our attention, because it allows companies to add cutting-edge AI intelligence to security cameras, without having to replace the camera hardware itself – a win for both security and sustainability. We very much like the fact that Eeva allows admins to identify what they want the AI agent to detect in plain English. Tell the agent that you want it to “flag a worker not wearing a safety vest” and it should do so instantly, without any complex coding or time-consuming training. The examples Brivio provided of this agent detecting everything from copper-cable thieves to illegal dumping shows how flexible it can be too. 

Ent

AI is often tarred as a security risk, so it’s good to see a company using AI to make businesses more secure. Ent appears to identify risks that other security products miss by sitting in the background and not only looking for suspicious activity, but behaviour patterns that are out of character for someone in that role. Better still, it can act proactively, preventing employees from performing damaging activities before it’s too late. Ent’s case study revealed how it alerted an HR employee that they were about to inadvertently share sensitive information, a great example of how even non-malicious behaviours can be corrected before they become a business liability. 

Haiqu

Quantum computing has been tantalisingly close to becoming a disruptive technology for decades, and Haiqu feels like it’s closing the gap between exciting theory and game-changing capabilities. Converting a natural language research question into an algorithmic approach that can run on today’s “noisy” quantum hardware feels like a shortcut to exploiting quantum’s enormous power. Haiqu’s ability to cut the cost of research (reproducing a $30,000 IBM molecular dynamics simulation to a 30-second job costing $25) could also bring quantum computing to a far wider audience. Case studies showing how Haiqu accelerates workloads for multinational giants such as HSBC further underline its potential. 

NPC Labs

Counterfeit goods are often seen as something of a soft crime, but it’s genuinely a matter of life and death in the pharmaceuticals industry. NPC Labs has demonstrated it has a solution that provides reassurance both for the producers and the end consumer. NFC chips are applied at manufacturing, which can be read by any smartphone. That means a consumer can tap their drugs and be reassured they are using a genuine product, without having to download an app, set up an account, or do anything else that puts obstacles in the way of getting the reassurance they need. The company claims it can deliver counterfeit-proof prescription bottles for less than $1 a chip and has widescale partnerships that will hopefully continue to drive costs down. 

RapidSOS

There are few scenarios where getting accurate information quickly matters more than emergency call centres, and RapidSOS was able to demonstrate how its Harmony AI made a massive difference in 2026 – at the FIFA World Cup. That event saw fans from around the world arrive in the US and RapidSOS was able to deliver real-time translation of 911 calls in more than 90 languages during the tournament, meaning that call handlers didn’t have to waste critical minutes by handing off calls to someone who speaks the language. The platform’s ability to let Android smartphone users share live video with emergency services is another way of cutting through language barriers and letting handlers make fast judgements on the correct response.