Link Launchpad Winter 2027 · Cambridge, MA

Three weeks in Kendall Square to build an AI company.

A January build program at Link Studio for student founding teams of two to five. Software or hardware, with AI at the core. You arrive with an idea and leave with a working product, two pitch days behind you, and real conversations about what comes next.

Apply for Winter 2027 → See how it works
The brick courtyard at One Kendall Square in Cambridge, home of Link Studio.
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3
Weeks on the floor
$2,500
Stipend per founder
10–12
Teams in the cohort
2
Demo days, Jan 21 and 22
01 — The Floor

Link Studio’s build floor at One Kendall Square.

Launchpad runs on Link Studio’s own build floor at One Kendall Square, with desks, whiteboards, and advisors in the room. Kendall Square is one of the densest concentrations of technical talent in the country, and the studio is a short walk from MIT and the Red Line.

Workstation pods beside Link Studio's signature red wall at One Kendall Square.
Founders working at standing desks by Link Studio's tall, brick-framed windows.

What comes with the floor

→Desks, monitors, and whiteboards for every team
→Studio open around the clock on weekends
→Kendall Square, the Red Line, and the river at the door
Founders working together in the Link Studio workspace.
02 — Schedule

January 4 to 22, 2027.

We keep the calendar light on purpose. Sessions are few and high leverage. The rest of the time the studio is yours and the work sets the pace.

Week 1Jan 4 – 10
Define the problem

Kickoff dinner, customer discovery, and a problem doc by the end of the week.

Week 2Jan 11 – 17
Get it working

Friday demos, User Test Day, and a working demo by the end of the week.

Week 3Jan 18 – 22
Tell the story

Founders dinner, dress rehearsal, and a real pitch on Demo Day.

A day on the floor

What a typical program day looks like.

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03 — Workshops and Firesides

Workshops, firesides, and office hours.

Over three weeks you learn from founders, operators, and investors who build companies for a living and have seen this stage many times over. They come to the floor, tell you what actually happened, then sit down with your team one on one.

A speaker taking questions from the cohort during a fireside talk.

What they cover

A handful of workshops and an investor fireside across the three weeks, plus one-on-one office hours. From the topic pool:

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04 — What You Get

What every team gets.

Space, capital, compute, and people, set up before you arrive.

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05 — Who Should Apply

Student founding teams of two to five.

This is for you if

✓You have 2 to 5 founders who already trust each other.
✓You would rather build than talk about building.
✓You’re building an AI startup, software or hardware, with AI at the core.
✓You have a real problem, early signal, or a prototype worth pushing.
✓You want to start a real business.
✓You can be in Cambridge, full time, January 4 to 22, 2027.

What we expect

Show up.
Most days are flexible. Kickoff dinner, the founders dinner, dress rehearsal, and Demo Days are mandatory.
Ship things.
A problem doc by the end of Week 1, a working demo by the end of Week 2, a real pitch by the end of Week 3.
Help your cohort.
Friday demos and User Test Day work because everyone shows up for each other.
06 — The Team

The people running the program.

Link Launchpad is run by Link Studio, an incubator that starts and builds new companies from its floor at One Kendall Square. Link Ventures, an early-stage venture firm, works out of the same building. Everyone below is around the floor in January.

Dave Blundin
Founder
Dave Blundin
Founder and General Partner · Link Studio and Link Ventures

Serial entrepreneur. Twenty-three companies co-founded, five past $100M, including EverQuote (NASDAQ: EVER) and Vestmark ($2T+ in U.S. assets under management). MIT computer science. Teaches “AI for Impact: Venture Studio” at MIT today. Founded Link Studio in 2006.

23Companies co-founded
5Past $100M
2006Link Studio founded
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07 — Apply

Apply forWinter 2027.

Admissions are rolling, so the earlier you apply, the better. We expect to take roughly 10 to 12 teams, and the cohort flexes with the strength of the applications. Round up your co-founders, tell us what you want to build, and we’ll be in touch fast.

Start your application → Takes about ten minutes. Your draft saves as you go.