62. Mindstone Perturbed by AI being taught in dry workshops, Joshua Wöhle decided to create a platform that would bring the technology to life for learners. 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: Joshua WöhleYear founded: 2020Website: mindstone.comTechnology iterates fast and people often don’t have time to process how it will impact them before it is rolled out. Joshua Wöhle watched as generative AI arrived and then saw companies resort to “run one‑off training sessions that felt abstract, didn’t touch real workflows, and vanished the moment calendars got busy”.He saw, as there had been when he was learning to code as a child, that there was a huge gap between the magic of AI and the learning platforms, which he says “felt like filing cabinets”.He set about building Mindstone, an AI learning coach, which provides non-technical teams with the practical knowledge they need to apply AI in real-world scenarios. Mindstone fixes that last mile by turning real work into guided AI playbooks, baking daily practice into the job and showing measurable lifts in output and quality, This is AI brought to life, showing people where to start with it, what it should look like for their role, and how to build it into their habits. “Mindstone fixes that last mile by turning real work into guided AI playbooks, baking daily practice into the job and showing measurable lifts in output and quality,” Wöhle explains.The founder had to prove to companies that they didn’t need a workshop – often just a tick box exercise – but an experience that would actually embed AI into work lives. He says, “we overcame it by shifting from ‘training’ to enablement: co‑designing role‑specific playbooks with pilot teams, building daily practice into existing workflows, and measuring output and quality lifts so leaders could see the needle move”.The startup now lists Pearson, Hyatt and Home Depot among its clients and is backed by strategic investors, including Kelly Ventures, Pearson Ventures and Emerge. Plus, in 2021, the company raised what is said is the largest ever edtech crowdfund on Seedrs. It boasts 21,000 members across more than 20 cities, but is also working with the European networking group Boardwave to tackle the AI skills gap on the continent.The impact has been tangible with participants gaining back around 5.5 hours in their week by the end of the program. Wöhle hopes to reach more than one million users worldwide by 2030, demystifying AI for them and helping them use the technology to its maximum impact.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.