Qognetix has been selected as a Regional Finalist in the UK StartUp Awards 2026 Midlands region, chosen from more than 2,100 entries from startups across the UK.
The Birmingham-based company is currently raising £725,000 to expand its team and accelerate development of its platform.
For Qognetix, the recognition is less about awards and more about what it may signal. As intelligent systems move from experimentation into operational settings, the challenge is no longer only model capability. It is also about how behaviour is executed, governed, bounded, and inspected over time.
Qognetix is building infrastructure around that problem: a governed execution substrate for intelligent systems, designed to support more controllable and auditable behaviour in real-world environments.
Nic Windley, Co-founder and CEO of Qognetix, said:
“It’s encouraging to see early external recognition for the direction we’re building in. We believe the next major challenge in AI is not just model capability, but runtime behaviour, control, and deployability in real-world systems. We’re now raising £725,000 to expand the team and accelerate that next phase.”
The company is continuing development of its execution-layer platform and supporting tooling, with a focus on intelligent systems that require stronger governance, inspectability, and control.
Qognetix will now go on to represent the Midlands at the regional final, with winners progressing to the national final later this year.
For partnership, investor, or early access enquiries, please contact Qognetix through the website.
