2. HIVED HIVED is overtaking legacy couriers with a tech-first delivery network that’s setting a new standard for responsible logistics. Written by Helena Young Sponsored by Sage Published on January 12, 2026 About the Startups 100 Now in its 18th year, the Startups 100 is the definitive list of the most promising new UK businesses. There's no fee for entry or for inclusion in our index. The Startups team of new business experts judge all our top 100 entrants in collaboration with specialist industry consultants. See our guide to this year’s hottest new businesses and most exceptional founders in the complete 2026 Startups 100 index. Founders: Murvah Iqbal and Mathias KriegerYear founded: 2021Website: hived.spaceFew sectors are more in vogue, and yet more troubled, than parcel delivery. While ecommerce booms in demand, and retailers struggle under the weight of consumers’ ever-growing online shopping lists, legacy networks have struggled to innovate.HIVED co-founders Murvah Iqbal and Mathias Krieger think they’ve identified the problem. They argue that couriers have too long relied on aggressive discounting and cheap labour to chase volume, creating a race to the bottom that has damaged experiences of both customers and the drivers delivering to them. It’s a theory encapsulated by the many stories of driver strikes, missed deliveries, and financial losses in recent headlines.Whereas the HIVED team say they have taken a more-efficient shortcut to startup success. Instead of, as its founders describe “unsustainable cost reduction”, it has chased efficiency by leveraging machine learning to maximise fleet utilisation and minimise empty miles.Simply put, every item that’s dropped through consumer doors is tracked and reviewed to understand how the next drop-off could be that little bit faster, and that little bit smoother. This reduces costs without compromising quality (last year, the brand retained its Service-Level Agreement of a 99% on-time attempted rate whilst more than doubling its delivery volumes) giving ecommerce brands faster, more reliable, and more sustainable options.“We saw the chance to do what no one else had dared to do and rebuild parcel delivery from the ground up,” the duo recall. The result is a network that competes with incumbents like DPD, Royal Mail, and Evri, and an agile business model that’s constantly evolving. We saw the chance to do what no one else had dared to do and rebuild parcel delivery from the ground up. HIVED appeared in the Startups 100 Index last year, when we ranked it fourth in our list. We’ve this year bumped it up to a podium finish, in recognition of the huge inroads it has made into other high-value customer niches.2025 saw the roll out of both HIVED One, a solution specifically for small businesses, and HIVED Haulage for large-scale transport. A pioneering partnership with Mercedes-Benz has also enabled the UK’s first all-electric end-to-end delivery network.The London-based startup is also growing its colony rapidly across the UK. In 2025, it launched operations across seven UK cities including Bristol, Bath, and Brighton – a step towards nationwide coverage that will only ramp up this year.It’s also swarmed by client demand. HIVED has retained enterprises year after year, delivering for household names like Nespresso, Zara, and John Lewis. No wonder, when partners typically report a 95% reduction in customer complaints after switching to HIVED.Investor confidence mirrors market traction. In 2025, HIVED raised a $42m Series B round led by NordicNinja, enabling growth of engineering and data teams, and enhancement of its logistics intelligence platform, HIVEDmind.But growth has not come at the expense of purpose. This year, HIVED became a certified B Corporation – one of the few parcel delivery companies in its space to earn the accreditation.This milestone validates the company’s belief that ecommerce doesn’t need to be seen as an enemy of the sustainable cause. In fact, it can lead the charge.“Longer term, we see HIVED setting a new global benchmark for delivery performance, technology, and customer experience,” says the team. “Our ambition is not just to grow market share, but to redefine what people expect from parcel delivery altogether.”View the full Startups 100 Index for 20261. Omnea2. HIVED3. MAGIC AI4. OXCCU5. Lightyear6. Neuranics 7. Hormona8. Burbank9. Better Dairy 10. Lenkie Technologies11. Userled12. Hoxton Farms13. Rensair14. PulpaTronics15. TradeKart16. 32Co17. Carmoola18. cheqd19. Sightline Analytics20. Adamo Foods21. Bold Bean Co22. Beams Renovation 23. Pan Galactic24. Capi Money25. Spotted Zebra26. ANTHROTEK 27. Unravel28. Perci Health29. Untap Health30. Hair Syrup31. Connect Earth 32. spacebands 33. Unfabled34. Lightning Reach35. STOCKED36. Embeddable37. XR Therapeutics38. Literal Labs39. Scooch40. Openr41. Fibe Limited42. Inicio AI43. Peachies44. Better Nature 45. Ctrl Alt46. Resting Reef47. Nila48. ROXFIT49. Finmile50. NavLive51. Volunteero52. Inntelo AI53. Zonova54. A&B Smart Materials55. Ethicronics56. Treeapp57. kennek58. Soil Benchmark59. Vox Aeris60. Asan Cup61. Nuuri62. Mindstone63. MYNDUP64. Enbiosis Biotechnology65. JUX Food66. Danu Robotics67. Wylde Market68. Air Aware Labs69. Mimicrete Ltd70. ALYVE71. Happl72. Living Things73. Grub Club Pets74. Mealia75. PetProov76. Lylo Products77. Chest78. ZIM Connections79. Uptime Labs80. Teal81. Zero Fintech82. Micro Thermal Energy 83. Kanjo 84. Merlin Cloud85. My Skin Feels86. Eleria87. Cashblack88. RevvedUp89. Cosysense90. SuperFi91. Loom92. Legacy Compass93. Meshed94. SWURF95. Main Squeeze96. Sampl Technologies97. Over the Moo98. Pioneering People99. Bikebook100. Recondition Share this post facebook twitter linkedin Tags 2026 Written by: Helena Young Deputy Editor Helena is Deputy Editor at Startups. She oversees all news and supporting content on Startups, and is also the author of the weekly Startups email newsletter, delivering must-know SME updates straight to their inbox. From interviewing Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin to spotting data-led working from home trends, her insight has been featured by major trade publications including the ICAEW, and news outlets like the BBC, ITV News, Daily Express, and HuffPost UK. With a background in PR and marketing, Helena is particularly passionate about giving early-stage startups a platform to boost their brands. That's one reason she manages the Startups 100 Index, our annual ranking of new UK businesses. Sponsored by: Sage Startups 100 Index Sponsor 2026 Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid-Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.