H2O.ai Announces 2026 AI 100 Honorees

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 14, 2026--

H2O.ai, the trusted Sovereign AI Platform with the software and expertise to run predictive, generative, and agentic AI in production, today announced the winners of the 2026 H2O AI 100, its annual list recognizing leaders whose work is making a meaningful impact through artificial intelligence, from transforming everyday business operations to advancing scientific research and addressing social challenges.

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Now in its third year, the H2O AI 100 recognizes established AI leaders alongside the practitioners putting AI to work across multiple industries. This year’s honorees represent nearly 90 organizations across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.

The 2026 honorees were selected from open nominations submitted by H2O.ai's global community, partners, and the public. They are recognized across four categories: enterprise executives leading AI adoption; founders; public sector leaders; and researchers/ academics advancing AI for Good. Nominations were reviewed by a panel of judges, including Alexandra Mousavizadeh, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Evident; Tanya Berger-Wolf, Professor and Director of the Translational Data Analytics Institute at The Ohio State University; Loren Bushkar, Senior AI Policy Advisor and former Principal at the Federal Reserve Board; and Agus Sudjianto, SVP of Risk and Technology at H2O.ai and former Head of Model Risk Management at Wells Fargo.

"AI is part of how the world works now, and behind every breakthrough are people. The H2O AI 100 celebrates makers, dreamers, and practitioners driving real impact in business and beyond, from AI stars to those working quietly behind the scenes. Their work inspires our mission to democratize AI," said Sri Ambati, CEO and Founder of H2O.ai.

To celebrate their achievements, participating honorees will be featured on the Nasdaq Tower in New York's Times Square on October 21 and 22.

The full list of 2026 H2O AI 100 honorees, organized by category, is available at h2o.ai/ai-100/winners/2026.

About H2O.ai

H2O.ai created the industry's trusted Sovereign AI Platform because organizations should own their AI: their agents, models, data, and results, run anywhere from cloud to air-gapped. Super Agent orchestrates predictive, generative, and agentic AI in one system, with observability and governance, empowering regulated and public sector organizations to get value from AI.

Moving from pilot to production takes expertise, from top-ranked data scientists, including Kaggle Grandmasters, to forward-deployed engineers embedded with customer teams. Built on a decade of open source, H2O.ai is trusted by 20,000+ organizations, half the Fortune 500.

AT&T, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Workday, Progressive Insurance, and NIH rely on H2O.ai to cut cost and risk and own their AI future. Through its AI for Good program, H2O.ai applies technology and investment to non-profits and academia solving hard problems in health, education, and the environment.

Learn more at h2o.ai.

The top AI leaders driving real-world impact

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies are keeping Don Mattingly as manager, removing his interim tag and giving him a two-year deal even after a late-season collapse nearly cost the team a playoff spot.

The Phillies announced the move Wednesday. Mattingly led the team to a 79-55 record and a spot in the postseason after he replaced the fired Rob Thomson in late April. The Phillies nearly blew a four-game lead for a wild card in the final week of the regular season, then lost in three games to the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card Series.

The Phillies were 9-19 when they fired Thomson in April after he led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2022 World Series, and consecutive NL East titles.

The Phillies and team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski were rebuffed twice by former Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Dombrowski was spurned by Cora when he made the move to fire Thomson and again after the season ended, leaving him in both cases with Mattingly.

The 65-year-old Mattingly was hired last offseason to serve as a bench coach and had another year left on his contract. With an MLB work stoppage on the table in December, leaving at least parts of next season in doubt, Mattingly is the safe and familiar choice to oversee a roster that includes Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and one of the top rotations in baseball.

Dombrowski has yet to hold his annual end-of-season press conference — he and Mattingly will speak Thursday, the team said. The Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs on Oct. 1.

The Phillies' September swoon prevented them from lining up their pitching against Atlanta because it took until Game 162 to clinch a playoff spot.

Philadelphia forced Game 3 against the Braves with three dramatic solo home runs late in Game 2. But in the end, the Phillies were eliminated from the postseason for the fifth consecutive year as they chase their first World Series title since 2008.

The Phillies’ core of Harper, Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have made five straight playoff appearances and averaged 91 wins per year during that stretch. They have yet to win a championship and have been eliminated further and further from that goal each season since reaching the 2022 World Series.

The following season, Philadelphia exited in the National League Championship Series, and the next two years saw losses in the Division Series. A wild-card exit this season marked another step in the wrong direction.

Mattingly was one of three interim managers in baseball last season. Andy Green of the New York Mets and Chad Tracy of the Red Sox each were midseason replacements who eventually had the interim tag removed.

A six-time AL All-Star in his playing career with the New York Yankees, Mattingly is the father of Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly walks to the mound against the Atlanta Braves in the seventh inning during Game 2 of baseball's National League Wild Card Series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)