Link Innovations

Choosing a programme

• If your startup is entering the Indian market, the GIA Bangalore Market Access Programme is the one Link itself delivers.
• The other calls are run by other companies, such as Volvo's CampX challenge and Mercedes-Benz's Startup Autobahn India. Check each company's own terms before you apply.

How to apply

• Each listing on Link's programmes page has an APPLY NOW button.
• The D3 Startup Challenge 2026 is closed to applications.

What to expect

• Link's pages describe consultancy and corporate innovation work. They do not describe an incubation space or an intake of incubatees for outside founders.
• Eligibility is not stated for most listings, so ask before you apply.

Link Innovations is an innovation consultancy based in Bangalore and Paris. Its site says it enables enterprises to collaborate with startups, emerging technologies and innovation ecosystems. Its programmes page lists several calls for startups, and one of them, the GIA Bangalore Market Access Programme, is stated to be delivered by Link.

How programmes work

The GIA Bangalore Market Access Programme is a 12-week customised programme for startups entering the Indian market. It includes expert mentorship, market validation, strategic business connections and a one-week immersion in Bangalore, and it is supported by Enterprise Singapore. Link's programmes page describes it as 12 weeks long. Enterprise Singapore's listing is reported to describe two tracks, one of 12 weeks and one of 8 weeks, so check the current format with Link before you apply.

The other calls on Link's programmes page are run by other companies. They include Volvo Group's open innovation challenge through its CampX programme, Startup Autobahn India (powered by Mercedes-Benz R&D India), OVHcloud's startup programme for cloud resources, Panasonic's Co.lab Studio by IGNITION and UST's D3 Startup Challenge. Link's own role in these is not stated, and the D3 challenge has closed to applications.

Who can apply

The GIA programme is aimed at startups entering the Indian market. Eligibility is not stated on Link's programmes page, so ask Link before applying. The other calls name who they are for: high-potential startups in Volvo Group's business use cases, startups that want to test and co-create products with a car manufacturer, startups registered in the DACH and APAC regions for OVHcloud, and enterprise-ready B2B startups for D3.

Scale

Link's website describes a network of more than 200 incubators, more than 200 corporates and more than 50,000 startups across APAC, EMEA and the Americas. Its programmes page says more than 600 proof-of-concepts have been run between startups and corporates across its programmes, and that 48% of accelerated startups raised follow-on funding within 12 months of completing a programme. Its site also says it has worked with more than 100 global corporates and runs active startup corridors across four continents. These are Link's own figures, and we have not verified them.

Who it works with

The D3 Startup Challenge site describes Link as a global innovation consulting company that has worked with multinational corporations in oil and gas, energy, renewables, manufacturing, automotive and aerospace. Sources give different founding dates for the company, so this page does not give one.