JunieXR has been announced as the national winner of the 2026 Creative Business Cup Ireland, earning the opportunity to represent Ireland at the prestigious Creative Business Cup Global Finals in Copenhagen this August. The company will join creative startups from more than 60 countries to compete on the international stage and connect with investors, industry leaders and fellow innovators from around the world.
Creative Business Cup Ireland is delivered through a national partnership between CREW (Creative Enterprise West) and the Western Development Commission (WDC), and the Creative Business Network (Denmark). The initiative supports Ireland’s most promising creative entrepreneurs by connecting them with international networks, business development opportunities and global markets through the Creative Business Cup platform.
The Creative Business Cup is an international competition designed to empower creative entrepreneurs by connecting them with investors, global markets and the wider startup ecosystem. Each year, the competition showcases innovative businesses across sectors including design, media, music, fashion, film, gaming, architecture and immersive technologies, helping ambitious founders scale their businesses and create global impact through creativity.
This year’s programme saw a cohort of Ireland’s leading creative startups exhibit at EDGE26: Ireland’s Creative Economy Summit, held in Galway on 21st May 2026, where they showcased their businesses to investors, industry leaders and the wider creative ecosystem before the national winner was selected by the CBC Ireland jury in late July.
JunieXR, founded by Grace Dinan, impressed the judging panel with JunieStream, an innovative accessibility solution that delivers sign language interpretation, adaptive captions and interactive viewing features natively within streaming platforms. By placing accessibility controls directly in the hands of viewers, without requiring a separate application or modification of the original content, JunieStream is transforming digital accessibility and enabling broadcasters and content providers to deliver more inclusive viewing experiences.
Joining Grace in Copenhagen at the Global Creative Business Cup Finals is Miguel Escobar, founder of Mekkato CreaTech Studio, which builds AI-powered software and provides strategic consulting for the global screen industry. Based in Galway, Mekkato’s flagship product, ScriptGuru, gives screenwriters, production companies, studios and streaming platforms powerful tools to develop, refine and progress stories towards production-ready stage, helping to streamline the creative development process and unlock new opportunities for the screen industry.
Allan Mulrooney, CEO of the Western Development Commission, said: “Creative entrepreneurs are making an increasingly important contribution to Ireland’s regional economy, creating innovative businesses with global potential while strengthening our local enterprise ecosystems. Through our partnership with CREW, the Creative Business Cup provides a valuable pathway for these businesses to access international markets, networks and investment opportunities. JunieXR is an excellent example of the world-class innovation emerging from Ireland’s creative sector, and we look forward to seeing Grace represent Ireland in Copenhagen.”
“Creative Business Cup Ireland is about creating opportunities for ambitious creative businesses to connect with international markets, investors and collaborators,” said Niamh Costello, CEO of CREW. “This year’s programme supported a cohort of exceptional founders through mentoring, business development and showcasing their businesses at EDGE26 before selecting Ireland’s national representative. Congratulations to Grace Dinan and the team behind JunieStream. Their commitment to designing technology that makes digital content more accessible demonstrates the power of creativity to solve meaningful challenges, and we’re excited to support them as they represent Ireland on the global stage.”
Grace Dinan, Founder of JunieXR, said: “We’re incredibly honoured to be named the winner of the Creative Business Cup Ireland. Accessibility should never be an afterthought, and this recognition reinforces our mission to make digital content more inclusive for all audiences. We’re excited to represent Ireland at the Global Finals in Copenhagen, showcase Irish innovation on the world stage, and connect with an inspiring community of creative entrepreneurs.”
The Creative Business Cup Global Finals will take place in Copenhagen on August 26-27 alongside TechBBQ, one of Europe’s leading startup and innovation events. Representing more than 60 countries, the competition provides participating companies with opportunities to pitch to international investors, connect with global partners and gain worldwide exposure for their businesses.
Creative Business Cup Ireland forms part of CREW’s mission to accelerate the growth of Ireland’s digital creative sector by supporting ambitious founders with the knowledge, networks and opportunities needed to build globally competitive businesses.
