38. Literal Labs Literal Labs develops fast, energy-efficient, and explainable AI using logic-based models that can run anywhere – from small IoT devices to enterprise systems. 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: Professor Alex Yakovlev, and Professor Rishad ShafikYear founded: 2023Website: literal-labs.aiThe rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has seen thousands of businesses adopt their own solutions to make their processes faster, smarter, and easier to manage. However, AI has a less than favourable reputation when it comes to sustainability, particularly because of its large energy and water consumption.Not only that, but the lack of explainability and transparency in many AI models means people often don’t know why the model made a certain decision, risking user trust.Newcastle University professors Alex Yakovlev and Rishad Shafik founded Literal Labs to solve these problems by developing logic-based AI models that are faster, more energy-efficient, and inherently explainable.The process is simple: you give the system your dataset, which then figures out the best model setup. From there, you can deploy it anywhere – from tiny edge devices to regular computers – without needing expensive Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or cloud servers.“We scale AI down to efficient, logic-based solutions which can be deployed anywhere from the edge to cloud servers without compromising on accuracy,” says Yakovlev. “This combination of speed, efficiency, and explainability makes us uniquely positioned to deliver sustainable and ethical AI in resource-conscious markets.”Yakovlev and Shafik’s groundbreaking approach saw Literal Labs secure £4.6m in pre-seed funding in a round led by venture capital (VC) firm North Gritstone in June 2025. Four months later, it was nominated for a national AI Innovation Award. We scale AI down to efficient, logic-based solutions which can be deployed anywhere. As for personal milestones, the North East-based company successfully proved that its Logic-Based Network (LBN) can run on tiny coin-cell powered Internet of Things (IoT) devices for up to ten years.“That milestone felt little more than theoretical when we started, yet it was achieved with our logic-based models running AI inference every five seconds,” Yakovlev explains. “It was the perfect demonstration of our vision: AI that doesn’t just work, but works without waste.”The startup’s ambitions for the next five years are lofty. Yakovlev and Shafik aim for Literal Labs to power the intelligence behind millions of divides and decision systems worldwide – delivering fast, efficient, and trustworthy AI everywhere.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.