Linq, a Birmingham, Alabama-based startup developing messaging technology has raised $20 million in Series A funding to expand its platform. The company, started by former Shipt executives Elliott Potter, Patrick Sullivan, and Jared Mattsson, began as a digital business card for sales teams, has gone through several iterations before discovering strong demand in helping businesses connect with customers over iMessage and RCS and beyond traditional SMS.
Though companies like Apple and Twilio allow businesses to do mass texts, Linq pushed in a different direction. Their users had been asking for messages that felt more personal — like the blue iMessage bubbles they were used to. In February 2025, in response Linq released an API that allowed companies to send rich native iMessages. This enabled group chat, image, voice note, emoji support and others. But only eight months later, the business has already doubled its recurring revenue — which took four years to build before.
The next big break was when Linq teamed up with a company that had an AI assistant called Poke. The software could make it easier for users to schedule events and answer questions right within iMessage. Following Poke’s September launch, the demand for Linq’s messaging API exploded. There were more AI startups looking to pipe into iMessage, RCS and everyday-old SMS to power its assistants.
Filled with mounting interest, Linq pivoted again in focus—now evolving from a predominantly sales team service into the messaging-based AI tools platform we’re now. The result: their customer base exploded by 132% in one single quarter, while user accounts grew 34%. The AI tools platform — positioned among emerging best AI tools for conversational engagement — now has 134,000 monthly users and the platform processes 30 million messages per month. Linq also has a solid 295% net revenue retention rate and is at 0% customer churn.
And now a new round of funding, led by TQ Ventures and including Mucker Capital and angel investors, will allow Linq to bring on more staff as the company looks to expand into new markets and expands its technology. While it depends on Apple’s system for now, the team sees a far larger future. Linq's aim is to provide the ability to communicate on all of the major platforms, see Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp or even email.
Andrew Marks, co-founder of TQ Ventures believes that Linq's work is creating a whole new space for companies who want to connect with their customers through a seamless and simple communication platform.
Business Outstanders brings you sharp insights on tech, business, entrepreneurship, law, crypto, and more. We uncover what’s next. Stay updated, sign up for our newsletter and be part of the future!
