53. Zonova Driven by seeing patients die from infections caused by medical devices, a scientist founded a startup to save lives. 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: Dr Georgia Fleet and Carla SouthworthYear founded: 2023Website: zonovatech.comIt was a shocking moment, when a critical care doctor told her that patients were dying from infections caused by medical devices, that drove Dr Georgia Fleet to take action.Then a PhD student at UCL, she discovered that commonly used devices could harbour bacteria that caused diseases like pneumonia, and these were killing people. “That hit me hard, and I thought we need to find a way to prevent infections at this point, rather than trying to treat them after,” she says.As Fleet discovered, when you go into hospital, you have a one in 10 chance of getting an infection. “70% of those are directly linked to medical devices, and this isn’t just for endotracheal tubes. It’s all plastic tubes enabling lifesaving medicines and care to be delivered,” she explains. The plastic surfaces provide conditions for bacteria to thrive. That hit me hard, and I thought we need to find a way to prevent infections at this point, rather than trying to treat them after As well as the danger for patients, the cost of treating these infections for hospitals can be up to £45,000 per case. Fleet spent five years working on an antimicrobial endotracheal tube. Instead of a coating, she used a fully embedded, broad-spectrum antimicrobial technology, which delivers durable protection without toxicity.While it worked, it wasn’t commercially viable. Zonova was born from the decision to pivot to licensing instead of manufacturing. Fleet and co-founder Carla Southworth built a model that scales and brings in revenue ahead of regulatory approvals.They say they are now in active conversations under NDAs with multi-billion-pound-revenue original equipment manufacturers across urology, wound care and orthopaedics. Collectively, they say, these potential partners could generate over £85bn in annual revenue. this is the validation that truly impacts patient lives The technology is also being piloted in three UK veterinary referral hospitals to get early clinical data.Fleet was a winner of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award for 2024/2025. She says this moment “validated not just my science, but my decision to take the huge leap from academia to being a deep-tech entrepreneur”. In Fleet’s words, Zonova has gone “from a high-potential startup into a nationally recognised, government-backed innovation”. She adds, “this is the validation that truly impacts patient lives”.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.