IntegrityIQ to become first TCD campus company to officially spin out from Trinity Business School

IntegrityIQ, the business behind an AI-driven platform designed to address failings in ethics and compliance in large multinationals, is set to become the first campus company to officially spin out of Trinity Business School.

It is hoped the move could be the first step in making Dublin a hub for ethics and corporate integrity in Europe.

IntegrityIQ is supported by The Learnovate Centre, a global research and innovation centre in learning technologies in Trinity College Dublin. In 2023, with Learnovate’s support, the environmental, social and governance (ESG) firm received €365,000 in funding under Enterprise Ireland’s Commercialisation Fund to bring the platform to market – a process due to culminate this year.

IntegrityIQ is attracting support from investors both in Ireland and internationally and was last week named a regional finalist in the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition – one of three Dublin-based finalists in the New Start category.

The company’s mission is to help large multinationals address failings in ethics and corporate governance that are leading to huge annual losses from fraud, corruption and unethical behaviour.

The firm was founded in 2022 by Dr Daniel Malan and is co-owned by IntegrityIQ CEO Mark Shields.

Dr Malan is an internationally renowned expert in the field of Organisational Integrity and Director of the Trinity Corporate Governance Lab at Trinity College Dublin. He has served as co-chair of the Integrity and Compliance Task Force for Business Twenty (B20), the official business dialogue with the G20. He has also been a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Transparency and Anti-Corruption and an advisory committee member on the Future of Trust and Integrity Project.

Mark Shields is an award-winning executive specialising in the development of ESG companies from start-up to SME level. Mark’s previous company, CR360, received a number of honours under his stewardship, including the Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100, which recognises the UK’s fastest-growing tech companies, and the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade.

At the core of IntegrityIQ’s business is an AI-driven platform which provides an immersive environment for employees to share perceptions about integrity risks and corporate culture and to sharpen their ethical decision-making skills in a simulated environment. Employees can make protected disclosures via the platform, which will also capture relevant data in real-time for internal and external reporting.

Companies continue to suffer huge losses due to unethical behaviour. Some key statistics include:

—  Companies lose €4.7 trillion globally each year to employee fraud

—  Business insiders, or insiders working with outsiders, account for 57% of all fraud cases annually

—  In Western Europe, corruption accounts for the largest proportion of occupational fraud, with only 16% of cases picked up by internal audit and 9% by data monitoring. Some 41% of fraud cases are uncovered following a tip-off.

Ethics officers in large multinationals report challenges around the sourcing of relevant content for ethics and compliance training. Scaling effective programmes is also a challenge, with ethics officers reporting that most scalable solutions are ineffective. IntegrityIQ offers an affordable, personalised solution at scale.

Dr Daniel Malan, Founder of IntegrityIQ and Director of the Trinity Corporate Governance Lab at Trinity College Dublin, said: “We are hugely excited by the prospect of becoming the first campus company to officially spin out of Trinity Business School. It has been a fantastic 12 months for Integrity IQ. The €365,000 investment from the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund put us on a path to market readiness while Learnovate’s technical support helped us refine our AI platform and put us in a position to sign our first contracts with customers.

“Ireland has a strong tradition of corporate governance. Indeed, historical documents indicate that Ireland was the first country in the world to have a corporate governance code. We envisage Dublin as becoming the ethics and corporate governance capital of Europe, with IntegrityIQ being the first company in what we hope will be an entire business ecosystem focused on integrated integrity solutions rather than tick-box compliance.”

Nessa McEniff, Centre Director of Learnovate, said: “Learnovate is delighted that its partnership with IntegrityIQ is culminating with the firm becoming the first campus company to officially spin out of Trinity Business School. We’re proud that our expertise in research and innovation in learning technology has played such a key role in the development of a cutting-edge platform that will educate workers, combat fraud and reduce lost revenues for companies all over the world.”

Mark Shields, Co-Founder and CEO of IntegrityIQ, said:

“Fraud and unethical behaviour are having a huge negative impact on the bottom lines of so many businesses around the world. Our solution has the potential to make a significant difference by reducing the amounts lost to corruption and fraud through education, training, and an easy-access facility for whistleblowers to make protected disclosures. That’s why we are delighted that IntegrityIQ is on the brink of becoming the first company to officially spin out of Trinity Business School. We look forward to bringing our unique offering to market.”

Prof Laurent Muzellec, Dean of Trinity Business School, said:

“As Dean of Trinity Business School, I am immensely proud to see IntegrityIQ become the first campus company to officially spin out of the School. This achievement not only underscores the strength of our entrepreneurial ecosystem but also reaffirms our commitment to fostering innovation that addresses critical global challenges. IntegrityIQ’s focus on leveraging AI to enhance ethics and compliance aligns with our values of ethical leadership and sustainable business practices. We look forward to watching IntegrityIQ lead the charge in making Dublin a hub for corporate integrity and ethical business solutions in Europe.”

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