Philippe Mizrahi (Linkup) : Building the Web Search Layer for AI Agents 🔍

Philippe Mizrahi is the CEO and Co-Founder of Linkup, a Paris-based startup building the web search layer for the AI era. Previously a Group Product Manager at Lyft, Mizrahi co-founded Linkup in 2024 alongside Denis Charrier, whose prior company Niland — one of Europe's first vector search engines — was acquired by Spotify, and Boris Toledano (ex-McKinsey). The company has raised over $10M in funding, including a seed round led by Gradient, and is backed by Seedcamp, Motier Ventures, and angel investors including founders from Mistral, Datadog, and Deel. Linkup's API powers AI agents at enterprise clients including KPMG, and holds state-of-the-art results on OpenAI's SimpleQA benchmark.AGENDA:• 00:00:55 - Phil Mizrahi and the bet that became Linkup• 00:04:07 - Why Linkup's original vision was wrong• 00:07:00 - The MVP mistake most founders never catch• 00:10:05 - Fundraise or bootstrap: what Linkup chose and why• 00:13:08 - What Phil looks for in a founding team• 00:15:50 - Why Linkup wins in a crowded AI market• 00:19:07 - How Linkup got its first customers• 00:21:55 - The market bet Linkup is building toward• 00:36:22 - The pricing psychology behind Linkup's strategy• 00:39:05 - Why most startups target the wrong customer• 00:42:07 - The growth loop that scaled Linkup• 00:44:40 - Running a global team before you're ready• 00:46:45 - What separates founders who execute from those who don't• 00:50:09 - What most founders still get wrong about AI• 00:53:25 - How AI rewrites the zero-to-one playbook• 00:56:36 - What Phil tells every early-stage founder