The teams Altara from South Africa and Swipewise from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) were declared the winners of IOSCO’s first TechSprint following a “Demo Day” hosted on October 8, 2026 at IOSCO Headquarters in Madrid, Spain.
The TechSprint was powered by the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) AI Lab and focused on Investor Education and empowering investors to navigate financial markets shaped by new technologies, especially AI.
The Altara team won the Pilot Pathway Award for their project answering the problem statement on how to help retail investors identify and avoid AI-enabled fraud and scams.
Altara reimagines investor protection for an AI-enabled world. Rather than placing the responsibility on investors to determine what is real, Altara creates trusted pathways between investors and financial institutions - combining verification, contextual education, scam-risk intelligence and conduct infrastructure to help investors understand financial decisions, recognise trusted interactions and identify potential harm, while helping institutions evidence fair consumer outcomes.
The Swipewise team won the Pilot Pathway Award for their project answering the problem statement on how technology can be used to educate and empower retail investors to use AI as a learning tool about finance, while understanding AI-related risks across diverse regulatory and cultural contexts.
SwipeWise trains investor judgement through practice, not lectures. Using four game mechanics grounded in inoculation theory, investors learn to recognise AI hallucinations, demand explainability, verify claims, and calibrate confidence. A plug-and-play regulator architecture lets any jurisdiction deploy locally relevant content through an Admin Panel - no rebuild required.
The Pilot Pathway Awards reward the solutions with the clearest pathway from TechSprint prototype to further regulatory testing, pilot or practical deployment.
Four other prizes were awarded. The team Trustlens Shield from SEBI received the Global Transferability and Accessible Investor Education and Protection Awards, the team Finfactcheck from the Monetary Authority of Singapore the AI Trust and Transparency Award; and the team Trust & Verify from South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service the Behavioural Impact Award.
65 teams applied to the TechSprint, and 14 selected teams presented their project in Madrid. Teams worked on either of the two problems statements, both focused on the impact of technology for retail investors. Key elements for both problem statements were accessibility and potential for alignment across multiple regulatory and cultural contexts.
Participating teams came from 11 jurisdictions, including 6 from Asia-Pacific, making it the most represented region.
Teams worked virtually for months, with regular check-ins and mentoring from IOSCO and its members, and showcased their project to a jury composed of members of IOSCO’s Committee on Retail Investors at an in-person Demo Day event on 8 October 2026 in Madrid.
Any questions regarding the TechSprint may be sent to ioscotechsprint@iosco.org.
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“Artificial intelligence is a formidable tool. Through this TechSprint, IOSCO aims to both showcase and facilitate innovative solutions to harness the best of this technology, while empowering investors to avoid its pitfalls.” Jean-Paul Servais, IOSCO Board Chair |
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“The FCA’s AI Lab provides a practical environment for innovators to develop and test solutions to emerging challenges. Through our collaboration with IOSCO, this TechSprint has accelerated the development of tools that enable investors to identify risks such as AI-enabled fraud and deepfakes, while supporting the safe and responsible use of AI.” Lucy Castledine, Director of Consumer Investments, UK Financial Conduct Authority |
