LSE’s 100x Impact announces a new cohort of future ‘social unicorns’

100x, a leading global impact initiative based at the London School of Economics, has unveiled its 2025/26 cohort of high-impact social ventures. Spanning both for-profit and nonprofit models, these organisations have the potential to improve hundreds of millions of lives, driving change in education, justice, climate action, income inequality and global healthcare.

The new cohort includes standout ventures such as Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), who are enabling life-saving humanitarian action through open-source mapping, already covering areas home to 933 million people across 64 countries; Noora Health, who have equipped over 30 million caregivers across eight countries with medical training to strengthen community-based healthcare; and Arpan, who are transforming child protection on a national scale, impacting 15 million children with the potential to reach up to 80 million across India.

Also among the cohort are Sehat Kahani, Adalat AI, 1% for the Planet, Education Initiatives, Khushi Baby, Rology, Red Dot Foundation, Mobile Pathways and others, many of whom have already achieved major global recognition or commercial scale.

“This group of ventures is a testament to what 100x is all about: backing the next generation of social unicorns. Not billion-dollar companies, but organisations with the potential to improve a billion lives,” said Kieron Boyle, CEO of 100x and Professor in Practice for the Impact Economy at LSE’s Marshall Institute.

The organisations were selected following an open application that attracted over 800 applicants from around the world.

“Being selected for 100x is a powerful recognition of our mission and the dedication of our team and community, who work tirelessly to ensure that accurate maps improve the lives of millions of people in vulnerable places around the world,” said Rebecca Firth, Executive Director of Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team.

The 2025/26 cohort also includes four Southeast Asian ventures: Pandai, Solve Education, SwipeRx and Think Policy, the first group to join since 100x announced its strategic commitment to the region last year, recognising Southeast Asia as a growing hub of social innovation.

“Solve Education empowers underserved youth to build learning communities that thrive. With 100x Impact, we’re scaling our AI-powered, gamified platform to help more young people learn, earn, and uplift their communities — creating measurable, lasting change,” said Janine Teo, CEO of Solve Education.

LSE will provide over £2.4 million in unrestricted catalytic funding to the cohort, alongside access to 100x’s accelerator programme and world-class expertise to help scale their impact. Founders will also join a powerful peer network of future social unicorns already in the 100x portfolio.