42. Inicio AI A conversational AI platform that helps people complete income and expenditure assessments quickly, accurately, and with less stress. 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. Founder: Rachel CurtisYear founded: 2020Website: Inicio AIThe Income and Expenditure (I&E) assessment process for those in debt is often slow, complicated, and many people never finish them.It was this issue that founder Rachel Curtis says led her to launch Inicio AI. “Seven million people are now behind on bills,” she explains, “and our research shows around 40% of them can’t get the help they need as they cannot complete affordability assessments on their own and are too embarrassed to speak to another human to get help.”Through the use of AI chatbot technology, the platform is designed to guide people through I&E assessments quickly, accurately, and with less stress. Inicio AI’s virtual agent, “Budgie”, chats with users through the process, without the embarrassment and judgement that can come from human agents.It also gives each user a personalised form, and includes a built-in benefits calculator to see if they qualify for any extra income. There are benefits for businesses too. Inicio’s solution can increase form completion rates, enabling companies to reduce their call centre costs while offering a smoother customer experience. People are too embarrassed to speak to another human to get help. However, Curtis’ idea struggled to gain initial traction at first, as no one wanted to invest in the product without use cases. So, by starting with small organisations and charities, Inicio was soon able to prove the product’s value. This eventually led to larger clients and also opened the door to investment, including £2.6m in seed funding in April 2025.Three months later, the Coventry-based company won KPMG’s Tech Innovator 2025 Award, and later went on to secure £1.35m as part of the “One To Win” pitch competition at Birmingham Tech Week’s Tech Awards.Inicio’s impressive funding and recognition is a significant step towards its goal to power over 50% of the UK’s affordability assessments.And, with plans to expand into the Oceania and Canada markets in the next five years, Inicio AI is truly soaring its mission to help more people in debt get the support they need.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. 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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.