From Türkiye’s century-old financial institutions to its leading technology giants, a broad spectrum of established players, including university technoparks and innovation centers, are running comprehensive programs to strengthen the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
This surge of corporate venture support doesn’t just provide crucial financial resources; it creates a reciprocal learning environment, injecting the dynamism of young startups into established organizations.
Global VC market
Global venture capital (VC) market data supports the acceleration of this transformation. In the second quarter of 2025, global VC investments totaled $109 billion. Artificial intelligence ventures, in particular, stand out: AI companies attracted $131.5 billion in 2024, accounting for one-third of all VC investments.
In the U.S., AI-focused startups represented 46.4% of total VC deal value and 28.9% of the number of deals in 2024. Overall global VC investments increased from $349.4 billion in 2023 to $368.3 billion in 2024.
Türkiye’s startup ecosystem has grown in parallel with these global trends.
In 2024, the nation attracted $1.1 billion through 469 investment deals. Public sector funding backed 57% of investment rounds, while private sector investments reached nearly $1.4 billion.
Excluding investments from the Technological Research Council of Türkiye’s (TÜBITAK) BiGG Fund, the AI sector led the way, followed by cloud-based software services, financial technology, or fintech, and the gaming sectors. Five new corporate venture capital (CVC) firms were founded in Türkiye in 2024, bringing the total number to 91.
These corporate supports are enabling Turkish technology ventures to operate across a wide geography, stretching from the U.S. to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Market experts anticipated a resurgence in large deals in 2025 as macroeconomic conditions improve and certain global uncertainties stabilize. A significant recovery is especially foreseen in the initial public offering (IPO) market.
TT Ventures portfolio
One of Türkiye’s leading telecoms and technology companies, Türk Telecom’s corporate VC arm, TT Ventures, is making notable moves on the global tech stage.
Through its Pilot startup accelerator, the company has provided a total of $3.2 million in cash and investment support to 131 ventures. Seventy-eight of these supported ventures have collectively attracted $58 million from domestic and foreign investors.
The program’s success is clear in the numbers: by mid-2025, the total valuation of the ventures in the TT Ventures portfolio surpassed $500 million.
Muhammed Özhan, general manager of TT Ventures, outlined the company’s global strategy, emphasizing activities in a wide range of fields, from AI, machine learning, big data, and quantum technologies to digital health, biotech and cybersecurity.
TT Ventures General Manager Muhhamed Özhan. (Courtesy of Türk Telekom)
He noted that their San Francisco office brings the dynamism of Silicon Valley to Türkiye while simultaneously opening domestic ventures to global markets.
Özhan announced one of their most significant global moves was a direct investment in Groq Inc., a U.S.-based advanced AI processor company. This investment was made directly into Groq’s company partnership structure, not through an SPV or indirect vehicles, positioning TT Ventures as one of the few corporate funds from Türkiye to become a direct partner of a global tech giant.
Startup vaccine for century-old giant
Türkiye’s largest private lender, Işbank, is also seeing significant results from its seven-year journey in entrepreneurship.
The bank concluded the 13th term of its Workup program, opening its doors to a new generation of entrepreneurs.
Işbank General Manager Hakan Aran stated that their investments in entrepreneurship are paying off, adding that the century-old bank learns a great deal from the startups that keep it younger.
Aran expressed excitement at seeing former bank employees leading the innovative ventures they once collaborated with. The Workup Demo Day showcased many innovative ventures focused on sectors from agriculture and education to sales, marketing and mobility.
Universities’ role
The role of universities in the entrepreneurship ecosystem is also critical. The 14th Big Bang Startup Challenge, organized by Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ) ARI Teknokent and its incubation center ITÜ Çekirdek, took place this week in Istanbul under the theme “ImpactVerse.”
Considered Türkiye’s largest entrepreneurship event, the organization saw a total of 50 startups present in eight different sector verticals, including automotive and mobility, energy, health technologies, AI, e-commerce and platforms, construction and prop-tech, regulation and HR technologies.
Professor Attila Dikbaş, general manager of ITÜ ARI Teknokent, stated that Big Bang’s vision is not solely focused on technological progress but is human-centric.
The event featured ventures developing AI for logistics optimization, improving waste management, working on sustainable textile materials and offering energy efficiency solutions. The wide spectrum of innovation, from AI to sustainable materials, energy technologies and next-generation mobility solutions, drew significant attention.
Top science honor awarded to economist for entrepreneurship-growth studies
Professor Ufuk Akçiğit of the University of Chicago has been awarded the Rahmi M. Koç Science Medal, presented by one of Türkiye’s leading educational institutions, Koç University, since 2016, to encourage scientific output.
Recognized for his theoretical and empirical work in economics, Akçiğit has been honored for his research focusing on innovation, productivity, entrepreneurship, income distribution and social mobility.
Akçiğit, a member of the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, has garnered significant attention for his work, particularly for his application of big data analysis to substantiate the impact of entrepreneurship on economic growth.
His research reveals that newly established ventures not only create economic activity but also trigger high-productivity manufacturing and lay the groundwork for the emergence of new technologies.
New data highlights multiplier effect
A study published earlier this year indicates that a 1% increase in the entrepreneurship rate in Türkiye is associated with approximately a 2.7% rise in regional income. The data underscores that knowledge-based and technology-focused ventures, in particular, generate a significant multiplier effect on economic growth.
Professor Ufuk Akçiğit of the University of Chicago. (Courtesy of Koç University)
Studies in international sources point to similar conclusions: regions with high levels of entrepreneurship see an increase in employment, a rise in productivity and a notable strengthening of competitiveness.
For this reason, entrepreneurship is being placed at the center of development policies in many economies.
Serving country through science
Speaking at the award ceremony, Koç University Rector professor Metin Sitti emphasized what he described as special significance of the medal being awarded to a Koç University alumnus.
“This achievement is one of the brightest examples of our founder Vehbi Koç’s vision of ‘serving the country through science,'” he stated.
Akçiğit expressed his great pleasure at being honored with one of Türkiye’s most esteemed science awards and highlighted Koç University’s role in his academic development.
According to experts, Akçiğit’s data-driven research on the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth serves as an important reference point not only in academia but also for public policy.
Economists agree that strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem will directly contribute to Türkiye’s goals for productivity, employment and competitiveness.
EasyCep secures $45M to reshape secondhand electronics market
Interest in refurbished electronic products continues to grow both in Türkiye and globally. EasyCep, a pioneering venture in Türkiye, has successfully secured a $45 million investment to capitalize on this trend.
In developed markets, refurbished mobile phones account for up to 25% of the total market, while in Türkiye, rapid changes in recent years have pushed this share to 10%.
Leveraging its experience as the market leader in Türkiye’s refurbished electronics sector, EasyCep currently operates in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.
The company is now gearing up to accelerate its growth following a recent partnership with Xiaomi in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
EasyCep is the market leader in Türkiye’s refurbished electronics sector. (Courtesy of EasyCep)
EasyCep, received the $45 million investment with the participation of Oleka Capital, RePie Portföy and Ziraat Portföy. The company, which has grown fifteenfold in the last three years, will focus on transforming Türkiye’s secondhand mobile phone market and expanding its refurbishment focus to include a wider range of electronics, from tablets and computers to smart home appliances and gaming consoles.
Expanding refurbished product range
Commenting on the investment, Mehmet Akif Özdemir, co-founder and CEO of EasyCep, said the funding opens the doors to an “exciting new era” for the company.
“Our priority will be to elevate the customer experience to a much higher level in the refurbished electronics market, which we pioneered. Furthermore, we are very well positioned to accelerate our growth. We will further advance the transformation we started in the secondhand mobile phone market with our EasyCep Express dealer network,” Özdemir noted.
He said they are now focusing on the refurbishment of a broad spectrum of electronic products, not just mobile phones, but also computers, tablets, gaming consoles and smart home devices.
“By doing so, we are both facilitating consumers’ access to reliable and affordable technology and building a sustainable ecosystem that benefits local tradesmen and reduces the unregistered economy,” Özdemir added.
AI‑based clinical decision support system to be integrated into health insurance
Opinion AI has signed a partnership agreement with AXA Sigorta (AXA Insurance) to redefine decision-making processes in health insurance along the axes of scientific accuracy, speed and transparency.
The integration of Opinion AI’s artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support system into AXA Sigorta’s provision processes marks the start of a new era in the Turkish insurance sector.
Science-based evaluation
The system developed by Opinion AI evaluates every provision request by comparing it against up-to-date medical guidelines, international literature and reputable medical data sources. The AI analyzes the medical necessity of the diagnosis and requested procedures, offering expert-level recommendations across a wide spectrum, from rare diseases to complex cases.
The system stands out for its ability not only to generate decisions but also to transparently justify them with scientific references. The infrastructure continuously scans the latest developments in medical literature, automatically updating its knowledge base to ensure every evaluation adheres to the most current guidelines.
Digital twin tech
Elif Elkin, co-founder of Opinion AI, highlighted that this collaboration is a turning point for the sector.
“With the AI-based clinical decision support system we developed, we are elevating the quality and speed of decision-making in provision processes to a new level,” Elkin said.
Executives described the partnership between AXA Sigorta (AXA Insurance) and Opinion AI as a turning point for the sector. (Courtesy of AXA Sigorta)
“Every provision decision is supported by globally accepted scientific sources and presented with a transparent justification. This model not only reduces the workload of expert teams but also enables a more holistic evaluation.”
Elkin particularly emphasized the importance of digital twin technology. “This technology ensures the most accurate assessment by bringing together not only the request but also the patient data, the physician’s decision model and the medical context. While routine processes are automated, expert human resources can focus on more complex cases,” she explained.
Human-centric approach
Yavuz Ölken, CEO of AXA Sigorta, stated that the partnership with Opinion AI strengthens the company’s human-centric approach in the health care sector.
“Augmenting the medical evaluation required in provision processes with an AI-supported and literature-based system increases decision quality, enabling us to offer faster and more transparent service to our policyholders,” said Ölken.
“This system acts as a smart clinical consultant that adds a scientific perspective to our expert teams.”