Munich Startup: What does Lynkt do? What problem do you solve?
Fabian Starkbaum, Co-Founder and CEO of Lynkt: In many companies, valuable expertise remains unused because it's scattered across systems, hidden in employees' minds, or in unstructured data like emails. This results in employees wasting an average of 25 percent of their working time searching for knowledge, and significant know-how is lost when experts leave.
Lynkt solves this problem by creating a digital twin of the company’s knowledge, training an AI with it, and give every employee access to the right information at the right timeImagine you have an employee who, since the company was founded, has absorbed every new knowledge, can answer every question, and becomes more intelligent with every conversation – that's Lynkt.
This saves companies time, increases productivity, and lays the foundation for data-driven decision-making. Our focus: We help small and medium-sized industrial companies in particular to efficiently network complex data structures and knowledge silos. This ensures that information is available exactly when it's needed.
But Lynkt goes beyond mere information retrieval. We're laying the foundation for the future of knowledge work—an era in which AI not only supports but proactively takes over tasks.
Efficiently connect complex data structures and knowledge silos
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Fabian Starkbaum: Many search solutions on the market are too generic, developed for corporations or the new economy. Tailor-made solutions for industry are lacking. Lynkt offers more than a simple "keyword search": Using a company-wide knowledge network and the RAG method (Editor's note: RAG = Retrieval Augmented Generation is an optimized technique for natural language processing) we deliver not just results, but tailored, contextual answers based on the company's specific data and processes. Our vision: We think beyond a mere search function.
Lynkt is laying the foundation for a new era of knowledge automation: intelligent agents that autonomously perform tasks from report generation to complex workflows. We help companies advance their AI strategy and prepare for the age of AI.
With Lynkt, intelligent AI agents will be able to perform tasks independently in the future
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Fabian Starkbaum: Our CTO, Michael Cieslak, has firsthand experience: He worked as a technician in repairs and realized how difficult it is to acquire the right knowledge internally. Later, as an early developer at Snapchat, he introduced technologies that integrated augmented reality and platform solutions – approaches we are now further utilizing in our own platform.
I've already built a startup, YouGrow, that enables motivated people to transition into software development. A critical bottleneck was knowledge transfer – how do you get someone ready for a new job in just three months? The key is "just-in-time" learning. Today, we can no longer learn everything in advance. Knowledge isn't static; it's changing ever faster. This inevitably leads to a growing demand for intelligent employee assistance systems. This realization gave rise to the initial idea for Lynkt. We want to enable companies to fully leverage what is probably their most important competitive advantage—their expertise—and make it available to every employee in every language.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Fabian Starkbaum: First, there's the issue of integration. Small and medium-sized industrial companies often use a variety of IT systems, some of which are older, that first need to be connected. Cultural acceptance is also a challenge. Many employees are accustomed to existing processes and need to gain trust in a new AI-supported solution. But this is precisely where we see an opportunity. When we demonstrate how our platform specifically helps with work, an understanding of AI develops, and people enjoy working with our solution.
First pilot projects are already underway
Munich Startup: How are things going?
Fabian Starkbaum: Initial pilot projects with medium-sized companies are already running very successfully. We've been able to reduce search times by up to 90 percent and shorten customer service resolution times by up to 60 percent. There's been great interest, especially among industrial companies with complex processes, because we deliver measurable efficiency gains.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Fabian Starkbaum: Munich offers a dynamic environment with access to renowned research institutions, established tech companies, and a strong startup scene. The blend of tradition and modernity can be found at every level here—from beer gardens to cutting-edge innovation hubs. For us as a team, Munich is an up-and-coming location for rapid growth while simultaneously building a stable network. As a Hessian, it took me a while to transition from the "bread roll" to the "semmel" (roll). But now, "Servus!" is just as natural as "Gude!" (hello!). And the vibrant network here makes it easy for me to feel completely at home.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Fabian Starkbaum: We focus on innovation and consciously take risks to create something new. We also see an increasing willingness to take risks among our customers. I think we live in such a fast-paced world that it's become impossible to stop taking risks without running the risk of being left behind.
