32. Spacebands spacebands' wearable devices detect health and safety hazards in real-time – preventing workplace accidents and helping employers to reduce costs. 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: Ronan Finnegan and Harry Kimberley-BowenYear founded: 2020Website: spacebands.comConstruction remains one of the most high-risk industries in the UK, with 35 fatalities reported between April 2024 and March 2025. And in most cases, they’re preventable.Seeing just how common these kinds of accidents were on construction and manufacturing sites, founders Ronan Finnegan and Harry Kimberley-Bowen realised there was a glaring problem with how workplace safety was being handled.The pair found that current safety audits only flagged issues after they’d already happened, rather than preventing them in the first place.The solution? Wearable technology. Finnegan and Kimberley-Bowen launched spacebands with a mission to protect workers by detecting hazards in real-time, thus avoiding dangerous incidents.So how does it work? Workers wear a compact multi-sensor device that monitors for hazards like loud noise, hand-arm vibration (HAV), proximity to moving machinery, unauthorised access zones, or missed personal protective equipment (PPE). It also gives real-time alerts directly to the user when a risky situation is spotted.At first, it was tricky to convince businesses to swap out the clipboards for new technology. But after seeing the device in action – and the data to prove it reduced incidents at the workplace – spacebands’s solution quickly took off, and the company successfully onboarded five of the largest construction companies in the UK.The Startups judges were impressed with Finnegan and Kimberley-Bowen’s innovative approach – something that earned them the Global Trade Review BExA -GTR Young Exporter of the Year Award 2022.Just a year later, the Cardiff-based company exceeded its seed funding target of £60k, securing £1m in a round led by US venture capital firm Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners.This impressive financial backing has been a huge step forward for spacebands’ founders, and the dynamic duo have big plans for the next five years. Aiming to expand into the logistics, mining, and oil and gas sectors, spacebands is setting the standard for how wearable technology can keep workers safe worldwide.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.