Two Tyneside businesses named in list of UK's top startups
The UK’s biggest index of the most promising new startups, the Startups 100 Index, has released its 2026 lineup including two Tyneside businesses.
The Startups 100 Index, run by Startups.co.uk showcases the top 100 new UK businesses which exhibit technological innovation, impressive financials, market disruption, and a strong customer base or following.
The Index has been running for the last eighteen years and spans all industries with the final list championing a huge range of inventive and original ideas.
In previous years the Startups 100 Index has predicted the success of household names such as Monzo, Deliveroo, and Revolut.
This year, two Tyneside-based businesses have made the cut.
Placed at number 37, XR Therapeutics merges VR technology with CBT methods to help people overcome anxiety disorders, phobias, and other mental health conditions by allowing them to recreate and explain how they feel in certain situations.
While studying at Newcastle University, founders Morag Maskey and Jeremy Parr wanted to look into how therapy for anxiety disorders could be more effective for autistic people.
CEO of XR Therapeutics, Billy Webber, said: "For us, being included in the UK’s top startups list is a statement that the future of mental health care will be shaped by evidence based, accessible innovation.
“It strengthens our ambition to make XR Therapy available to everyone who needs it across multiple services. We are honoured to be featured in the top 100.”
Placed just one spot lower, Literal Labs was founded by Newcastle University professors Alex Yakovlev and Rishad Shafik to solve problems around the sustainability and transparency of AI.
CEO of Literal Labs, Noel Hurley, added:"We continue to make incredible progress at Literal Labs, and it’s great to be included as recognition of what the team has achieved thus far. We are on a mission to create fast, efficient and explainable AI models that tread lightly on the environment, and we're excited for even bigger things in the years to come."