80. Teal Teal is improving the lending industry for both borrowers and lenders by making income verification fast and easy. 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: Michael Hart, André Saavedra Pinto, and Luchesar CekovYear founded: 2023Website: goteal.coThe lending system is broken, claim founders Michael Hart, André Saavedra Pinto and Luchesar Cekov. They argue that income verification isn’t up to task. At the moment, borrowers face lengthy application journeys as they have to upload payslips, wait on HR confirmations and sometimes deal with affordability checks that aren’t easy to understand.At the same time, lenders are being held back by outdated systems that are prone to fraud, as well as trying to collate data from hundreds of different payroll providers. And that doesn’t even take into account self-employed or hybrid income profiles.The results, say the founders of Teal, are “friction, high dropout rates, and in many cases, unfair lending decisions”. Which is why the London-based team created a platform which “unlocks” payroll, HR, and tax systems at scale. Lenders can access real-time verified income and employment data as soon as they have the borrower’s authorisation.To get the platform off the ground, the team had to build a hybrid model as they faced what they called “a classic chicken-and-egg problem”.“We needed strong coverage to attract lenders, but also lender demand to justify expanding coverage,” they explain.This gave clients something to see, and the team also invested in compliance and security right from the start, to then build their trust. Teal won the backing of Passion Capital, ACF Investors, and K Fund, together with strategic angels from Plaid and Checkout, allowing it to raise £1.4m in pre-seed funding.With the product launched and the first UK client onboard, Teal is now hoping to bring the platform to more lenders across the country. It touts easy integration as a huge USP.With the product launched and the first UK client onboard, Teal is now hoping to bring the platform to more lenders across the country. It touts easy integration as a huge USP.The ambition is for Teal to become the default Income API in the UK, covering every kind of lending from personal loans to auto finance. The founders add, “beyond verification, we’ll evolve into the infrastructure layer that connects payroll directly with financial services, enabling a new generation of products built on trusted income data.”This means changing tenant referencing, insurance, and employment-related financial products for the better too. Teal could become “the backbone of income-linked financial infrastructure in Europe”, delivering better experiences for lenders and borrowers alike.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.