83. Kanjo Health Families are facing waiting lists of years, misdiagnosis, and heartache while trying to get support for their neurodiverse children. Kanjo wants 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: Sophia Parvizi Wayne and Deepthi UppalaYear founded: 2021Website: mykanjo.comIt was a deeply personal experience that drove the founders of Kanjo to create the service, a predictive neuro-developmental platform which aims to help parents and clinicians understand children’s mental health better.“I had a late diagnosis with ADHD at 24 years old and realised how flawed the process was,” co-founder Sophia Parvizi Wayne explains. “I had worked in mental health policy and education for over a decade and it seemed like it wasn’t moving the needle when it came to access or quality of healthcare.”Teaming up with product leader Deepthi Uppala, the pair decided to offer a better option for the parents of children diagnosed with ADHD – the latter of whom make up an estimated 5% of the global population.While timely inventions can improve outcomes, the team found that parents in the UK were facing waiting lists up to five years, misdiagnoses and underdiagnoses, as well as prejudice.They created a system that uses generative AI and hierarchical Bayesian networks (a set of frameworks used in machine learning to predict outcomes) to create a suite of clinical tools.While Kanjo cannot be used to make formal diagnoses (for obvious reasons), the founders say the aim was to “improve the diagnostic journey from start to finish”. I had worked in mental health policy and education for over a decade and it seemed like it wasn't moving the needle when it came to access or quality of healthcare. In the pre-diagnosis phase, families receive expert, personalised content and are then integrated into existing clinical pathways during diagnosis. By digitalising the assessment process, it can be quicker, more cost-effective, and more accurate than current pathways.Like nearly all UK startups, Kanjo struggled to fundraise and nearly ground to a halt in 2023. But after a mammoth 2024, the healthtech company managed to secure its first clients and partners, and the venture has now won the support of NHS DigitalHealth, London. Plus, it received investment from KQ Labs / Francis Crick, Entrepreneur First, and Access Industries.Kanjo has already brought its first batch of patients onto its new in-house care delivery program. The hope is that the model will be used across the industry in coming years.This, the founders say, could be for risk prediction in insurance, and enabling informed drug discovery in paediatrics, all with the mission of supporting “happier and healthier families”.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.