As AI Governance Demands Intensify, AIQA Global Launches First Independent Rating System

New AIQ™ Score Delivers First Standardized, Evidence-Based Rating of Enterprise AI Governance

Founder of the Ocean Tomo 300® Patent Index Applies Proven Ratings Methodology to AI Governance

CHICAGO, April 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AIQA Global, LLC (AIQA), the first independent AI governance rating firm, today announced the launch of the AIQ™ score, the first independent, standardized rating of enterprise AI governance quality.  The rating assesses how well organizations manage, govern, and protect their use of artificial intelligence, giving investors, insurers, and corporate boards a comparable measure of AI readiness and risk across organizations. The announcement comes as regulatory deadlines under the EU AI Act and state-level frameworks converge, accelerating demand for independent governance verification across industries. 

The AIQ score assesses enterprise AI governance across five dimensions – Strategic Alignment, Technical Robustness, Responsible AI & Compliance, and Adaptability & Education – using 250 data points, with scores reported on a 0–200 scale modeled on proven psychometric and capital markets ratings precedents. The methodology is grounded in recognized governmental and non-governmental standards, including the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, the EU AI Act, and ISO/IEC 42001.

AIQA's assessment architecture allows organizations to participate in governance evaluation without exposing proprietary model details, architectures, or training data to external evaluators.  

"Every major asset class eventually gets a quality rating," said James E. Malackowski, AIQA's Chairman. "Credit quality has its rating agencies. Patent portfolios got Ocean Tomo Ratings. AI governance now has the AIQ score. Self-attestation is not governance.  Independent measurement is."

"We built the AIQ score to answer a question that every enterprise deploying AI will eventually face: can you prove your AI is well-governed?" said Chase J. Malackowski, AIQA's Co-Founder and Managing Director, who developed the 250-factor scoring methodology. "Existing frameworks tell companies what good governance looks like. The AIQ score measures how well they're actually practicing it – on a standardized scale, with independent evidence, at a specific point in time."

AIQA was founded by the Malackowski father-son team, applying an approach pioneered at Ocean Tomo, LLC, where James E. Malackowski served as Chairman and CEO. At Ocean Tomo, he co-created the Ocean Tomo Ratings® platform which scored U.S. patents using renewal and citation metrics from Patent Office data, and the Ocean Tomo 300® Patent Index, calculated and published on NYSE Arca, a stock market index that outperformed the S&P 500 by more than 1,600 basis points over nearly a decade. The AIQ score applies the same principle—independent quality rating of a previously unmeasured intangible asset—to AI governance, using standards-based metrics in place of patent renewal data.

The announcement addresses a structural gap in enterprise AI:  boards lack AI governance benchmarking tools for fiduciary oversight, investors lack AI quality screening metrics for portfolio construction, and insurers lack AI risk-pricing data as coverage questions emerge.  The EU AI Act's high-risk system obligations take effect in August 2026, Colorado's AI Act becomes operational in June 2026, and insurers are beginning to scrutinize AI governance practices as new policy exclusions addressing AI risk emerge. AIQA operates as an AI-native firm with AI agents deployed at every level of the organization and is developing the AIQ 100™ Governance Index, a rules-based public equity index that selects stocks based on AI governance quality.

Learn more about AIQA Global at https://www.aiqaglobal.com/press/background.

About AIQA Global, LLC

AIQA Global, LLC is the first independent AI governance rating firm, providing enterprises, investors, insurers, and boards with a standardized, quantitative measure of AI governance quality. The company's AIQ™ score quantifies enterprise AI governance quality across 250 data points and five dimensions. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in North Miami Beach and Greenwich. AIQAglobal.com

AIQ™ scores are based on disclosed and verified data and represent AIQA Global's independent assessment of AI governance quality. Scores do not constitute regulatory compliance, legal advice, or investment advice. No assurance is provided regarding future performance, risk outcomes, or insurance eligibility. AIQ™ and AIQ score™ are trademarks of AIQA Global, LLC. Copyright 2026 AIQA Global, LLC. All rights reserved.

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