61. Nuuri The process of finding a nursery proved fraught, stressful and time-consuming for Steven Clarke, so he created Rightmove for the early years sector. 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 Founder: Steven ClarkeYear founded: 2024Website: nuuri.co.ukConfusing, stressful and outdated is how founder Steven Clarke describes trying to find a nursery place for his daughter. Clarke said what he hoped would be a straightforward process was blighted by “endless waitlists, scattered information and a lack of transparency”.To make the childcare experience far better for other parents, Clarke designed Nuuri: a digital-first platform to modernise nursery search and pre-enrolment for parents and providers. His plan was to create a platform that would give parents the information they needed but also save nursery providers time by cutting down the volume of emails and phone calls they had to field. The idea was to turn the process from frenetic to seamless.However, as a first-time founder without a track record in tech, it was a steep hill for Clarke to climb. “What got me through was the support of friends and family who believed in me early on, giving me the confidence to keep going,” he says. What got me through was the support of friends and family who believed in me early on, giving me the confidence to keep going, Isolation is a challenge faced by all founders. Clarke reached out to the startup ecosystem for advice and mentorship; and found a support network of “people who had done it before”. Soon after the venture saw its first invoice settled – the UK’s second-largest nursery group approached the team to onboard. Clarke says, “that mix of early revenue, industry validation and personal impact made it all real”.Now the London-based venture is onboarding some of the largest nursery groups in the UK. “Alongside this, we’re in active discussions with major property search platforms in Europe about partnerships that would integrate nursery search into their ecosystems, opening up access to millions of parents,” Clarke adds. Alongside this, we’re in active discussions with major property search platforms in Europe about partnerships that would integrate nursery search into their ecosystems, opening up access to millions of parents, After securing £275k in pre-seed funding last July, the plan is to expand the platform to include the wider early years sector and, ultimately, to become “as synonymous with finding childcare as Rightmove is with finding a home”.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.