H2O.ai Opens Nominations for 2026 AI 100 Awards
TECHNOLOGY
H2O AI 100 Award winners are featured in Times Square, recognizing leaders driving real-world AI impact across enterprise, government, research, and AI for good.
H2O.ai has opened nominations for the 2026 AI 100 Awards, an annual program recognizing 100 individuals worldwide who are shaping the future of artificial intelligence through innovation, leadership, and real-world impact. Now in its third year, the awards have become a global platform highlighting leaders deploying AI across business, government, research, and society.
The Mountain View, California-based company positions itself as a leader in Agentic AI and Sovereign AI with secure, on-premise, and air-gapped deployments. The awards program reflects the company's commitment to recognizing practical AI implementation rather than theoretical advancement alone.
Global Recognition Program
Winners of the 2026 AI 100 will be celebrated at a flagship event in New York City in spring 2026. The program includes a global activation at the Nasdaq MarketSite tower in Times Square and a private reception at Nasdaq. The event brings together AI leaders, innovators, policymakers, and executives from across industries for discussions on the future of enterprise AI.
Last year's honorees included executives from major global banks such as TD Bank, Bank of America, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, as well as leaders from AT&T, NVIDIA, and Cisco. The diverse roster demonstrates the awards' reach across sectors and geographies.
Five Recognition Categories
The 2026 AI 100 recognizes leaders across five distinct categories, each addressing different aspects of AI leadership and implementation.
Global Visionaries honors iconic public figures, founders, and AI pioneers shaping the long-term future of technology and society. This category focuses on individuals whose work influences broader AI development trajectories.
Enterprise Leaders recognizes senior executives and decision-makers driving large-scale AI adoption within global enterprises. This category acknowledges the challenges of implementing AI across complex organizational structures.
AI Makers – Builders, Founders & Operators celebrates hands-on innovators building and deploying AI systems in the real world. This includes engineers, researchers, startup founders, and product leaders directly involved in technical implementation.
AI for Good recognizes individuals using AI to advance public benefit across healthcare, education, climate, government, and nonprofit initiatives. This category emphasizes AI applications addressing societal challenges.
Evaluation Criteria
Nominees will be evaluated based on the real-world impact of their work with AI. Criteria include measurable business outcomes, societal impact, and leadership in responsible and trustworthy AI development.
The emphasis on real-world impact distinguishes the awards from recognition programs focused primarily on research publications or theoretical contributions. H2O.ai positions the awards as celebrating practical deployment and tangible results.
Winners will be announced in June 2026, culminating in the New York celebration and Nasdaq activation. The program provides significant visibility for honorees through the Times Square activation and associated media coverage.
About H2O.ai
Founded in 2012, H2O.ai works to democratize artificial intelligence. The company converges generative and predictive AI to help enterprises and public sector agencies build secure, purpose-built GenAI applications on their private data.
More than 20,000 organizations worldwide trust H2O.ai, including over half of the Fortune 500. Clients include AT&T, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Singtel, Chipotle, Workday, Progressive Insurance, and the National Institutes of Health.
Partners include Dell Technologies, Deloitte, NVIDIA, Snowflake, AWS, Google Cloud Platform, and VAST Data. Through its AI for Good program, H2O.ai supports nonprofit organizations and global initiatives advancing AI for education, healthcare, and environmental sustainability.
The company has raised $256 million in funding from investors including Commonwealth Bank, NVIDIA, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Capital One, Nexus Venture Partners, and New York Life.
Nominations are now open. To submit a nomination, visit the H2O.ai AI 100 Awards portal. The awards program continues to expand recognition of AI leaders making measurable impacts across industries and sectors worldwide.