LinkCup
LinkCup is a company.
Financial History
Leadership Team
Key people at LinkCup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded LinkCup?
LinkCup was founded by Ryan Wang (CEO & Co-founder).
LinkCup is a company.
Key people at LinkCup.
LinkCup was founded by Ryan Wang (CEO & Co-founder).
Linkup (linkup.so) is a French startup founded in 2024 that builds an internet search and access engine tailored for artificial intelligence applications. It provides a proprietary API enabling AI companies to access online content efficiently, ethically, and fairly through partnerships with premium content sources, addressing the challenges of AI's impact on traditional web business models.[1][4] Serving AI developers and companies of all sizes, Linkup solves the problem of sustainable, high-quality web data access for AI agents by offering fast retrieval from curated publishers, with early momentum from a €3 million seed round led by Seedcamp and Axeleo Capital in late 2024, plus selection for Microsoft GenAI Studio.[1][4]
The company has secured partnerships in Asia and the US, plans US expansion, and focuses growth on proprietary models, infrastructure scaling, publisher ties, and hiring in ML and engineering.[1]
Linkup was founded in 2024 by Philippe Mizrahi (CEO, ex-Lyft Group Product Manager with a background in autonomous vehicles, Polytechnique and Columbia grad), Denis Charrier (CTO, founder of Niland acquired by Spotify in 2017, 15+ years in software architecture), and Boris Toledano (COO, ex-McKinsey and Carrefour AI lead, HEC Paris and ISAE-SUPAERO alum).[1][4] The idea emerged amid AI's transformation of the internet, prioritizing ethical web access for AI agents; early traction included Microsoft GenAI Studio selection in October 2024 with support from Microsoft, Nvidia, GitHub, Mistral AI, and Cellenza, alongside the €3M raise joined by Axeleo Capital, Motier Ventures, Kima Ventures, and 100+ angels from tech and media.[1][4]
(Note: Distinct from unrelated entities like job data provider LinkUp.com (est. 2001, acquired 2024 by GlobalData)[6] or investor-focused Linkup (2022 pre-seed)[2].)
Linkup rides the explosive growth of AI agents and the "Internet of AIs," where demand for real-time, ethical web data surges as LLMs evolve toward specialized models needing precise, non-hallucinated inputs.[1][4] Timing is ideal post-2024 AI hype, with web publishers seeking fair compensation amid scraping concerns, positioning Linkup to bridge AI firms and content ecosystems via partnerships. Market forces like regulatory pushes for data ethics (e.g., EU AI Act influences) and infrastructure scaling (Nvidia/Microsoft ties) favor it, while its model influences the ecosystem by promoting sustainable alternatives to open-web crawling, potentially standardizing paid AI data access.[1]
Linkup is primed to capture share in AI data infrastructure as agentic AI proliferates, with €3M fueling US rollout, model enhancements, and team growth amid rising demand for ethical web gateways.[1] Trends like vertical AI models and publisher-AI pacts will shape its path, evolving its influence from niche API provider to key enabler in a multi-trillion AI economy—watch for major publisher deals and Series A by 2026. This positions Linkup as a foundational player redefining web-AI symbiosis, echoing its mission to build fair pathways from day one.[1][4]
LinkCup was founded by Ryan Wang (CEO & Co-founder).
Key people at LinkCup.