93. Meshed Meshed is a business insurance broker using native AI to cut down on admin and hidden costs and ramp up fair insurance cover for SMEs. 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: Mark Costello, Jake Wells, and Vincent LiuYear founded: 2024Website: meshedcover.comFinding the right business insurance (and at a competitive price) is crucial for SMEs. This is where insurance brokers can help – but the process of insurance broking is filled with paper pushing, which takes time that translates into higher fees for SMEs.Jake Wells and Mark Costello had previously worked together on an insurance broker business before the AI wave, and understood the problems within the industry. They teamed up with Vincent Liu, who was also keen to help solve the issues.They knew that processing PDFs, managing emails, and completing repetitive data entry takes up much of an insurance broker’s time. The lightbulb moment came when they realised that these are the kinds of tasks that AI is brilliant at.Inspired by this, they founded Meshed. It’s a small business insurance broker that uses native AI to process all the admin, freeing up human insurance brokers to spend more time working with their customers and winning new accounts.As a result, SMEs only have to pay for their broker’s expertise and service (not their admin time), and so Meshed can charge just 10% commission, while traditional brokers may charge up to 40%.This laser focus on the core work of insurance broking also means that SMEs get access to the best policies for them, and aren’t left underinsured (Allianz estimates that 80% of SMEs don’t have the right insurance cover, leaving them exposed to risk).Meshed has completed a pre-seed funding round led by Haatch, which has brought deep operational experience that the founders say has been invaluable. Meshed has also brought Aviva on as a strategic investor, giving the business the ability to build its own products as it scales.Getting authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was certainly a key achievement in Meshed’s journey to date, but what’s the next stop? According to Costello, Wells, and Liu, the goal is to become one of the top ten largest privately owned insurance brokers in the UK.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.