Romanian IT company Linnify opens office in the US, becomes member of the Austin Venture Association

Linnify, a Romanian IT company founded in 2016 by Alexandru Bogdan, Răzvan Bretoiu, and Cătălin Briciu, expanded into the US market with an office in Austin, Texas, one of the fastest-growing technology hubs in recent years. The move was backed by its partnership with the Austin Venture Association, which was initiated at the beginning of 2023.

This is the company’s second location after the one in Cluj-Napoca, marking an essential step in its “evolution and continuing its mission to support the startup and scale-up ecosystem in areas such as Healthcare, Education, the Future of Work, and Energy,” Linnify said.

Cătălin Briciu, co-CEO of Linnify, commented: “The decision to expand in the Austin market was a natural step considering the favourable market context. The crisis of March 2023 caused by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank significantly impacted the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem in the United States, diminishing risk appetite in the local investment sector. This was an additional reason to focus on managing risks in product development by using our innovative validation methodologies.”

The expansion into Austin, Texas, was consolidated by the collaboration with the Austin Venture Association (AVA) - a non-profit that facilitates the development of startups, bridging connections between the entrepreneurial and investment ecosystems. The partnership helps Linnify increase regional trust and adapt to the local American market. In addition, from the perspective of the entrepreneurial community, it represents a real opportunity to develop validated products, maximising the chances of securing investment.

In addition, the company said that its international presence was also supported by numerous regional visits during 2023 and the involvement of industry events through mentoring actions. Thus, Linnify facilitated six theoretical and practical workshops for over 100 American startup founders in health, education, and energy domains, presenting the validation process through the Validation Playbook, a Linnify methodology.

“This is not only a partnership but a transformative move in Austin’s innovation ecosystem where we provide local early-stage and growing startups with access to critical information and resources. We created our Business Member Services Program to provide value to our membership community. Linnify, as a new member, clarifies the business development plan based on real market data, essential information for venture capital investors in their funding decisions,” said David Valentino, Managing Director of Austin Venture Association.

This year, the company has also been involved in multiple support programs, incubators, and accelerators such as Innovation Labs, LevelUP (part of INNO Accelerator), Startup Reaktor, and Global Startup Cities, where the Linnify validation process was partially or fully implemented.