Hey Birmingham,
A lot happened in our city recently. Let's get into it.
Linq Raises $20M to Power AI Messaging
The biggest Birmingham tech story of the month: Linq just closed a $20 million Series A, led by TQ Ventures.
If you're not familiar, Linq was founded right here in Birmingham by Elliott Potter, Patrick Sullivan, and Jared Mattsson — all former Shipt executives. The company started as a digital business card platform, but has since pivoted into something much bigger: AI-powered messaging infrastructure that lets businesses deploy chatbots and AI assistants directly through iMessage, RCS, and SMS. No app downloads required.
The numbers tell the story: 132% customer growth, 30 million+ messages per month, and 134,000 monthly active users.
"Birmingham has always been a city that builds real things. We started Linq here because this is where we learned what it means to build a company that scales — and the talent and community here have made all the difference."
— Elliott Potter, Co-Founder & CEO, Linq
This is a huge signal for Birmingham's startup ecosystem. Former Shipt leadership, staying local, building AI infrastructure, raising serious capital. That's the story we want to keep telling.
Photo: WunderFan
WunderFan Raises $3.1M to Reward Sports Fans
And Linq isn't the only Birmingham startup making moves. WunderFan, the Innovation Depot-based sports engagement app founded by Blake Patterson, just raised $3.1M in a seed round to fuel nationwide expansion.
If you haven't tried it yet, WunderFan rewards fans for showing up — attending games, watching from home, making predictions, and engaging with their favorite teams. Points turn into real deals from partners like Dick's Sporting Goods, Lululemon, and DoorDash. Think Pokémon Go meets sports loyalty.
The app went viral at the University of Oregon during football season, and the team has since been approached by an NBA franchise to build a team-specific experience. Sorbius Capital led the round.
"We built WunderFan on a simple thesis: fans should earn from consuming sports they already love. Whether it’s attending a game, watching it on TV, checking out content or picking a winner, you’re earning rewards you can use on brands like Chipotle and Lululemon — or apply directly to tickets through our marketplace, fee-free.
We proved it works when our partnership with the NedBank Golf Challenge drove 43% more ticket sales than the previous year just by giving patrons the opportunity to earn Wunder. Then during March Madness, we put our patent-pending ‘watch to earn’ tech to the test — fans could earn 50 Wunder scanning games on TBS or TNT, but switch to TruTV and you’d earn 4X — 200 Wunder. The result was a 483% difference in engagement, proving fans are actively figuring out the best ROI on how they consume sports. That’s why we raised $3.1M in our seed round led by Sorbius Capital, and we’re taking this global."
— Blake Patterson, Founder, WunderFan
Two Birmingham startups raising capital in the same month. That's not a coincidence — that's momentum.
What's Happening in February
A quick look at what's coming up in Birmingham tech in the next two weeks:
TechTuesday: State of the Ecosystem
Feb 17, 11:30am–1pm
TechBirmingham's first TechTuesday luncheon of the year, featuring a State of the Ecosystem discussion — startups, VC, accelerators, and economic development. If you care about where this city is headed, this is the room to be in.
Birmingham AI - Data Breakout
Innovation Depot
Feb 17, 11:30am–1pm
AI use cases for managing and utilizing your data. Free lunch included.
Birmingham AI - Non-Profit Breakout
Innovation Depot
Feb 17, 11:30am–1pm
Real use cases for AI in your non-profit. If you're in the non-profit space and wondering where AI fits, this is your session.
BWIT AI Session: Prompt Engineering
Feb 17, 12–1:30pm
Birmingham Women in Technology's AI series continues with a practical session on prompt engineering. Great entry point if you're AI-curious but not sure where to start.
HBCU Students Tackle AI for Public Safety
Innovate Alabama and Alabama Collective are challenging HBCU students across the state to propose AI-driven solutions to public safety issues through a hackathon format.
This is exactly the kind of thing that makes Birmingham's tech community different — connecting education, AI, and real community impact. Keep an eye on this one.
The Data Center Debate Heats Up
This one's getting interesting. Alabama Senate bills are targeting data center tax incentives and utility regulation, while the Birmingham City Council has set public hearing dates for a data center moratorium.
The debate: jobs and investment vs. electricity costs for residents. No matter where you land on it, this is a policy conversation that affects our tech ecosystem directly. This one is worth following.
ICYMI: TATC "2026, What's Next?" Was a Hit
If you were at Workplay a couple weeks ago, you already know — but for those who missed it: TATC Community's "2026, What's Next?" event brought out an incredible crowd for breakout conversations across Creative, Technology, AI, Marketing, Founders, and Birmingham Tech Groups.
Huge thanks to Deploy Alloy, Meaningful.ai, Alloy Digital, and Digitally Demented Ventures for their sponsorship.
And special thanks to Workplay and Tortugas Pizza for their hospitality!
And if you haven't heard yet: we announced The INMO Awards — recognizing the innovators and motivators who quietly make Birmingham's tech ecosystem better. Not the loudest voices. The connectors. The mentors. The ones who show up.
Nominations are open now at https://theinmoawards.com.
Takes 2 minutes. You know someone who deserves this.
