Water Linked has been selected to join the 2026/27 cohort of LINC (Launchpad for Innovative Norwegian Companies), a program supporting Norwegian technology companies with ambitions in the U.S. and allied defense markets.
Being selected for LINC marks another important step in Water Linked’s continued international growth and our work with defense, security and autonomous underwater systems.
LINC is a collaborative program between the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI), Innovation Norway and the Norwegian-American Defense Industry Council (NADIC). The program connects selected Norwegian companies with the U.S. defense and innovation ecosystem, including potential industry partners, end users and market specialists.
Water Linked is one of eight Norwegian technology companies selected for the 2026/27 cohort.
From Trondheim to Lillestrøm and onwards to the U.S.
Last week, the new LINC cohort officially came together for the program kick-off in Lillestrøm.
Our CEO, Torstein Skogseth, took the stage to introduce Water Linked and our technology, and to share how our solutions for underwater navigation, positioning, communication and perception can support increasingly autonomous subsea operations.
The kick-off also provided an opportunity to meet the other companies in the cohort, representatives from the program partners and the service providers that will support the companies as the program progresses.
For Water Linked, the value of LINC is closely connected to our ambitions in the U.S. market.
“It is a great acknowledgement to be selected for the LINC 2026/27 cohort. We will use the program to further strengthen our work towards the U.S. market, including both new and existing OEM customers,” says Torstein, CEO of Water Linked.
“The program will allow us to engage closely with potential technology partners as well as end users. The kick-off really underlined that opportunity, with interesting conversations both with the other companies in the cohort and with the designated service providers.”
Strengthening our U.S. connections
The U.S. is an important market for underwater technology, with growing demand for smaller, more autonomous and more capable subsea systems.
Water Linked develops compact acoustic technologies that enable underwater vehicles to navigate, position themselves, communicate and understand their surroundings. Our technology is already used by OEMs and operators internationally across commercial, research and defense-related applications.
Through LINC, we look forward to building on these relationships, creating new ones and gaining an even better understanding of the requirements, partnerships and pathways needed to bring Norwegian underwater technology to U.S. and allied users.
Above all, we are looking forward to the conversations ahead, with customers, technology partners, end users and the other innovative Norwegian companies joining us in the 2026/27 cohort.
Thank you to FFI, Innovation Norway and NADIC for selecting Water Linked and for bringing the LINC community together. We are excited to get started.
[Learn more about the LINC program → https://www.innovasjonnorge.no/tjeneste/linc-launchpad-for-innovative-norwegian-companies