2026 has been qiute the year, and believe it or not, it’s nearly time to reflect on all that’s happened in the world of startups and tech and where we might go from here.
We’ve spent the year shining a light on startups and founders in specific industries and regions, highlighting the incredible work they’re doing and the exciting projects we have to look forward to.
Now, it’s time for the ultimate competition: one that’s incredibly difficult, yet equally rewarding, to judge.
The TechRound100 allows startups and SMEs from around the world and across all industries to go head-to-head in the ultimate competition. We’re putting our expert judges to the test, asking them to evaluate a plethora of incredible companies based not only on typical metrics of success like size and valuation, but also on some of the less obvious indicators of great potential and prosperity, too.
Founded in 2016, TechRound is the UK’s best-known and fastest-growing startup and tech news site. This is where decision-makers, investors and startups of all size and nature come to find out about the latest developments and trends within the industry.
Entries Open: 10 November
Entry Cost: Free
Entry Deadline: 24 November 2026, 5pm GMT
Winners To Be Announced: 10am GMT 1 December 2026
Why Enter?
- Featured in front of an audience of 200,000+ visitors per month
- Top 100 placements get a full-page write-up (see example)
- You’ll be recognised by VCs, investors, journalists and industry leaders around the world
- Entry is free!
Our Criteria
- Entries are open to startups, scale-ups and SMEs
- Revenue is not a deciding factor
- No specific industry or region
- Both new businesses and established businesses are welcome to enter
Not sure if it’s the right fit? Ask us!
Meet The Judges
Ken Ashe
Founder at Lucky Domains | AI Application Builder
Ken Ashe is the founder of Lucky Domains and an AI application builder. A CPA and PMP, he spent roughly two decades working across finance, project management, product management, program management, data, and technology, including leadership roles at Prudential Financial.
He left corporate work to focus on entrepreneurship and now builds practical AI applications, agents, and digital businesses. Ashe also writes about technology and entrepreneurship at KenAshe.ai and has spoken at NFT.NYC on digital identity.
Lucy Kemp
Chief Growth Officer at La Fosse
Lucy has over 20 years of experience working as a seasoned employee experience, culture and communications specialist, working for companies including Skype and Unilever.
At La Fosse, she champions authentic culture, inclusive employment and drives real change for women working in tech. Lucy has a keen focus on tackling systemic inequalities against women in the workplace, which has led to the development of La Fosse’s UNBOUND‚ an initiative which aims to address gender inequality within the tech industry to ensure women and underrepresented groups can thrive.
Jonathan Steele
Founder, Steele Fortress | Partner, Beermann LLP
Jonathan is the founder of Steele Fortress, a cybersecurity and privacy consultancy, and a partner at Beermann LLP in Chicago. His work sits where technology and law meet: digital evidence, data privacy, and protecting confidential information. He holds CompTIA Security+ and ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) credentials and lectures for the Illinois State Bar Association and others on AI security and confidentiality.
Madhu Nadig
Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Flagright
Madhu Nadig is co-founder and co-CEO of Flagright, the AI operating system for financial crime compliance. He leads the engineering and platform architecture behind Flagright’s unified system for transaction monitoring, watchlist screening, risk scoring, investigations, case management, AI forensics and governance workflows.
His work focuses on building enterprise grade, audit ready infrastructure that helps financial crime teams operationalize AI with explainability, control, transparency and human oversight across real compliance operations.
Shenal Vanderwall
Founder at CEO, Meeedly
Shenal Vanderwall is an internationally recognised technology entrepreneur, software engineer and business leader. He is the Founder and CEO of Meeedly, developing an enterprise platform to transform how organisations manage meetings and workplace collaboration.
With experience building global technology partnerships and working with major organisations including Microsoft, Google and SoftwareOne, Shenal combines technical expertise with commercial strategy and entrepreneurial vision. He is passionate about driving innovation and building transformative technology businesses with global impact.
Gina Marrs
Editor at TechRound
Gina is TechRound’s Editor where she covers the global tech and startup ecosystem, with a particular interest in emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, AI and innovation. Through her work with founders, investors and growing businesses, she has developed a broad understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing startups at different stages of their journeys.
Passionate about the role of technology in shaping business and society at large, Gina is particularly interested in ambitious founders, fresh ideas and businesses with the potential to make a meaningful impact.
