52. Inntelo AI The hotel industry is being held back by siloed systems that leave data underutilised and AI impossible to deploy. This team set out to change that. 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: Asif Alidina and Shahzain BadruddinYear founded: 2024Website: inntelo.comAs is often the case with the most compelling of startups, the founders of Inntelo AI experienced a problem firsthand and set out to solve it. London-based Asif Alidina has worked in hospitality innovation for more than a decade. What he saw was a desperate desire to push forward, but businesses being held back by legacy systems.“I saw first-hand how hotels struggled with fragmented technology, designed by people with little frontline experience,” he explains. Post-pandemic, this fragmentation became “overwhelming”, he adds, as businesses wrangled with “dozens of disconnected systems, rising costs, and no way to consolidate data or leverage AI”.Alidina paired up with tech leader Shahzain Badruddin, who had engineered robust, high-volume ecommerce platforms for Marks & Spencer and Charlotte Tilbury Beauty. The duo created Inntelo AI, which unifies guest experience, operations, upselling and data in one stack. By bringing them together, teams can simplify operations, capture richer data and deliver better customer experiences. I saw first-hand how hotels struggled with fragmented technology, designed by people with little frontline experience, The team took a hands-on approach to testing the platform. “In March 2025, we made history by launching the UK’s first agentic and conversational AI Concierge in live hotel operations at Park Hall Resort & Spa in Lancashire,” they say. The feedback and data proved that the model worked.This gave the platform credibility and it proved to potential clients that this was more than AI hype. Inntelo AI is now backed by Antler, Haatch, Look AI Ventures and the British Business Bank, as well as former executives from Trip.com and Docusign as angel investors. In May last year, it announced it had secured £500k in a pre-seed round. In March 2025, we made history by launching the UK’s first agentic and conversational AI Concierge in live hotel operations at Park Hall Resort & Spa in Lancashire, In May, the team secured its largest hotel to date, TRYP by Wyndham Dubai, which has 650 rooms. Inntelo AI is now onboard for the Ciel Dubai Marina, the world’s tallest hotel, offering 1,004 rooms. Its ambitions are also sky high, with a five-year plan to be “the global standard for AI-native hospitality technology, powering operations and guest experiences in 100,000 rooms worldwide” across hotels, branded residences, and mixed-use developments.As they say, “with the market rapidly consolidating, we believe only truly AI-native solutions will endure and we intend to lead that transformation”.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.