18. Cheqd By taking an open-source approach to data, Cheqd is putting control of data back into the hands of the individual. 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: Fraser Edwards, Ankur Banerjee, and Javed KhattakYear founded: 2021Website: cheqd.io Cheqd is back with a Startups 100 hat-trick. Appearing on the index for the third year running, its been rapidly climbing the leaderboards, starting out at #60 in 2024, moving up to #34 in 2025, and for 2026 impressively cracking our top 20.Cheqd has continued to grow, and ascend our ranks, thanks to an increasing number of trusted global partners. The startup initially faced some challenges simply due to the obscure and highly technical nature of what they were offering.But the value has come into sharp focus, now that Cheqd has been accepted into the JPMorgan Chase Fintech Forward Program, and Barclays Scaleup Program, in 2025.It’s been a well-deserved, rapid ascent for a company with a mission to keep your private data secure. Cheqd uses decentralised data encryption to preserve our online privacy. By now most of us are familiar with the concept of decentralised currency (cryptocurrency), but Cheqd wants us to start thinking about our decentralised identities.To date, Cheqd has, in its own words, “built one of the largest and most diverse ecosystems in Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), bringing together leading innovators across digital identity, compliance, trusted data, and decentralised AI”. SSI is a digital identity model that gives individuals control of their own personal data.The problem that Cheqd identified with traditional systems is that they were reliant on “centralised entities” (where all the control comes from a singular point), which kept control out of the hands of users, and were more prone to data breaches.Cheqd, on the other hand, is an open-source blockchain network, which makes it much easier and more secure to exchange and purchase trusted data. Essentially, Cheqd wants to make managing and sharing your digital ID and data more trustworthy, and more efficient.What makes Cheqd stand out from the data-privacy crowd, though, is the financial incentive for companies to participate. Cheqd introduces “payment rails” which can create new revenue models for both organisations and individuals.By 2030, Edwards and Banerjee see the company providing the default infrastructure for verifiable credentials, allowing startups, enterprises and even governments to issue and verify trusted data across industries. We look forward to checking in on them next year.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.