Depending on this acceleration in the world, the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem has also reached a level that attracts the attention of entrepreneurs and investors abroad, breaking records, producing unicorns and decacorns, and increasing the number of startups and investments made, especially within the last 5 years. Just in 2021, the 10-fold increase in investments in startups in Turkey has enabled some startups to become unicorns and decacorns, and some companies to go global by exiting.

Since 2011, when we were established as ITU Seed, the incubation center of ITU ARI Teknokent, one of the most important technoparks in the region, we continue to support startups in every aspect needed and contribute to their global expansion. To date, we have received more than 60 thousand applications from many different parts of the world, supported more than 3,500 startups and 7,500 entrepreneurs. Of these startups, 1057 were incorporated, reaching a valuation of more than 4.7 billion TRY, receiving investments exceeding 760 million TRY, and achieving a turnover of more than 368 million TRY. In this process, many of our startups have expanded to foreign markets with the support of our stakeholders, mentors and investors, conveying their success stories in Turkey to the global market.

So which of the numerous ITU Seed startups whose entrepreneurial journeys have gone global, receiving investment from investors in different countries of the world, establishing worldwide collaborations, reaching their target audience in new markets and writing a global success story, stands out the most?

Intenseye

Employee health and safety platform Intenseye has been accepted into Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator (ERA). The startup, which recently received an investment of $25 million under the leadership of New York-based Insight Partners, carries out its activities in the United States. Currently serving in 40 different cities in the USA, Europe and Asia, Intenseye’s customers include Fortune 500 companies.

Metrobi

Working on last mile logistics, Metrobi has deepened its studies in Boston after being accepted to the Techstars Boston Accelerator. They currently have many customers in the United States.

Teleporter

Offering a digital gaming platform where gamers from all over the world can interact with games and spend time doing their favorite things with like-minded people, Teleporter has, to date, received an investment of more than 430 thousand dollars from Silicon Valley and Turkey. Today, they work with many global companies and continue their work in Silicon Valley.

VSight

Vsight, which enables field workers to work more efficiently with smart glasses and mobile device software thanks to the industrial augmented reality platform that they have developed, has received investment from Startup Wise Guys and was cited as one of the startups to follow in 2021 by EIT Digital. Vsight also ranked first among 330 startups from 51 European countries at StartUpDay 2021 held in Estonia. 85% of the startup’s turnover is from global sources.

Scoutium

Scoutium, a digital football monitoring platform aiming to discover talented amateur football players from all over the world, has raised a total investment of 3.5 million dollars to date. Working with more than 30 clubs in Turkey, Germany and Poland, thousands of young talents have been analyzed and dozens of new football players have been discovered.

Simularge

With its patented technology that minimizes industrial production loss and saves millions of dollars a year for its customers, receiving a seed investment, Simularge was accepted into the 2021 cohort of Alchemist, one of the best B2B accelerators in the USA. The startup, which is among the top 5 in the world in both digital twin technology and manufacturing-oriented simulation software, has dozens of leading customers in its field.

Vivoo

Vivoo’s product, which enables individual monitoring of metabolism, is used in more than 50 countries around the world. Its investors include global investment networks such as Draper Associates, Halogen Ventures and Techstars. Vivoo, which has more than 60,000 app users, has reached 25,000 customers in more than 60 countries.

Virasoft

Virasoft, which makes the detection and diagnosis of pathological diseases such as cancer more effective with their digital pathology and telepathology platform, has raised more than 3 million dollars to date and serves a plethora of international customers. In 2019, the startup established a strategic partnership with labs at MIT and offers digital pathology solutions to more than 20 hospitals.

Write Your Global Success Story with ITU Seed

As ITU Seed, we are very happy to guide regional entrepreneurs as they open up to the global market. Apply now and join us to become an ITU Seed startup and have a strong and lasting global success story!

You can visit our website for more details: https://ituseed.com/

You can read our article about the opportunities offered by ITU Seed.

You can read our article about the advantages offered by Turkey and Istanbul.

You can read our article about the Turkish investment ecosystem data for 2021 and the opportunities it offers to entrepreneurs.

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The global startup ecosystem continued its rapid growth in recent years in terms of investment volume, reaching an all-time high in 2021. According to KPMG’s report titled “Startup Investments in Turkey 2021“, while 643 billion dollars of startup investments were made all over the world in 2021, the ecosystem broke a global record by reaching almost twice the 2020 volume of 335 billion dollars.

So how did the Turkish investment ecosystem spend 2021? Did the global picture develop similarly in Turkey?

Investments in Turkish Startups Increased 10-Fold in One Year

The rapid development of the Turkish entrepreneurship ecosystem continued in 2021, as it has in the last 5 years. In addition, the investments made in startups from Turkey enabled startups such as Peak Games, Dream Games and Insider to become unicorns, startups such as Trendyol and Getir to become decacorns, and some companies to go global by exiting. With this acceleration in the Turkish investment ecosystem, the amount of investments made in startups in Turkey has increased 10-fold compared to the previous year.

According to the “Turkey Startup Ecosystem 2021 Evaluation” report by Startups.watch, as a result of these investments, 1 billion 552 million dollars were invested in 294 investment rounds in the angel and VC stages in Turkey in 2021. While Turkey was one of the 10 most invested-in European countries last year, Istanbul rose 8 places to rank 13th among the European cities that received the most investment. While there were 13 investment rounds worth 10 million dollars or more in Turkey last year, this number was at most 2 in the previous 4 years. In addition, in 2021, 18 new funds were established in Turkey worth 178 million dollars, and thus the total fund value established between 2017 and 2021 reached 850 million dollars.

Foreign investors also participated in 44 of the 294 investment rounds made during the year, bringing the total number of foreign investors to 60. In addition to this data, foreign investors took part in 89% of the investments in 2021 in terms of quantity.

Most Popular Industries: E-Commerce and Gaming

According to KPMG’s report, when looking at the investment transactions made to startups in Turkey, the sectors that attracted the most investment in terms of volume and amount were e-commerce providers, delivery and logistics, games and SaaS, while the gaming sector placed first in terms of number of transactions. It continued with other sectors in the form of SaaS, FinTech and marketplaces, respectively.

The Number of Seed Investments Increases

One of the other highlights of the Turkish investment ecosystem in 2021 was the increase in the number of seed investments. Last year, seed investments reached 264 and constituted a very high portion of the total number of investments. While the seed investment amount in 2020 was 61 million dollars, this value increased to 105 million dollars in 2021. This data is of great importance considering that startups that have received seed investment have a greater chance of success by using the funding support to grow rapidly. This indicates that the success of startups coming out of Turkey will increase in the coming period and many more success stories will be written.

What Does the Turkish Investment Ecosystem Offer Entrepreneurs?

While Turkey is rapidly growing its entrepreneurship ecosystem, developments in investment, one of the most important areas of this ecosystem, has seen a rising trend, as indicated in the data above. Large-scale investments in companies such as Getir, Trendyol, Peak Games and Dream Games has not only increased Turkey’s strength in this area, but also increased the number of local investors and focused foreign investor attention on Turkish startups.

In the field of startup investments, for the first time in 2021, Turkey became one of the 10 countries that attracted the most investment among all European countries, while Istanbul who had ranked 21st in the same category the previous year, rose to 13th place in 2021, both of which is a reflection of Turkey’s rapid rise in this regard. In addition, the fact that foreign investors took part in 89% of the total investments made to startups in Turkey in 2021 is further proof that Turkey has become a focal point for foreign investors.

From this point of view, being in Istanbul, which is one of the largest metropolises in the world as well as being the most important city in Turkey and the country, is a great source of advantage for entrepreneurs in terms of growing their startups, having access to qualified manpower, and opening up to global markets.

Approximately 52 million Euro Investment in ITU Seed Startups in 2021

While investments in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Turkey and in the world continued to grow, 2021 was a year where ITU Seed startups received millions of euros worth of valuation and investment, went global, took their initiatives to the next level, and got one step closer to their goals. 50 ITU Seed startups received more than 50 million euros in 2021 with a valuation of 323 million euros, thus increasing the amount of investment made in ITU Seed startups 5 times compared to the previous year.

Reach the Investment to Grow Your Startup with ITU Seed!

If you too want to meet with ITU Seed’s more than 40 corporate and over 40 investment network / investor stakeholders, who are leaders in their sector, and increase your chances of getting investment at demo-days events, apply to ITU Seed now and join us!

You can visit our website for more details: https://ituseed.com/

You can read our article about the opportunities offered by ITU Seed: https://ituseed.com/bridge-to-global-growth-what-does-itu-seed-offer-to-startups/

You can read our article about the advantages offered by Turkey and Istanbul: https://ituseed.com/gateway-to-global-what-does-turkey-and-istanbul-offer-to-startups/

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Rapidly growing and developing cities around the world and the ecosystems create form the heart of entrepreneurship. One of the biggest cities in world, Istanbul, is one of them! Istanbul offers a wide area not only for Turkish entrepreneurs, but also for all entrepreneurs with its location connecting Asia and Europe, its workforce, expanding market, human quality, promising new opportunities, and investment opportunities. It has also increased its influence in the international arena with an increase in the number of startups that emerge from Turkey and go on to have significant global success.

Well, if you are an entrepreneur living outside of Turkey and want to grow globally, what promises does Istanbul hold for you? What advantages will you have by being located in Istanbul, which has become an international entrepreneurship hub?

Growing and Developing Ecosystem

Turkey’s entrepreneurship ecosystem is growing day by day and rapidly, especially with an increase in the number of newly established startups within the last 10 years and the success of Turkish entrepreneurs globally. Turkish startups Getir, Peak Games, Dream Games, Hepsiburada, Trendyol and Insider became unicorns, and especially the global success of Getir has proven Turkey’s growing and developing ecosystem to the whole world.

Strong Entrepreneurship Community

The Istanbul hosts thousands of entrepreneurship-oriented events every year due to its location, sectoral power, ecosystem and being at the heart of the business world. With related seminars, conferences, hackathons, award ceremonies, training and investor meetings, there is a wide entrepreneurship network in the city, providing great networking opportunities for entrepreneurs. Likewise, steps taken by state institutions and private sector representatives in this field have contributed to not only supporting entrepreneurs to further advancing their work but also to making Istanbul a major entrepreneurship hub.

Unique and Strategic Location

Istanbul has an extremely strategic location, being a bridge connecting Asia and Europe, being at the center of the business and financial worlds, and being close to many major markets. This location offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to do business in the region’s most important destination and interact closely with different countries and ecosystems of the world.

Large and Diverse Market

As a developing country with a population of approximately 85 million, Turkey is an extremely large, growing and diverse market with both a balanced young/old population as well as foreign citizens coming to the country from abroad. Istanbul, with its population of 18 million, among the largest metropolises in the world, is the city where the heart of the country’s business, finance, economy, trade, education and culture-art beats! Thanks to this power, startups have the opportunity to access many different user profiles, examine consumer behavior, test their ideas and products, and learn about global market dynamics.

Current and Potential Workforce

Istanbul, one of the largest and fastest growing cities in the region, is at a critical point with its varying sectors and current business volume. In addition, the potential business opportunities arising from the investments made by giant brands and the work of public institutions in Turkey, which is among the 20 largest economies of the world, means an important opportunity for entrepreneurs to expand their startups, business partnerships, and customer pools.

Qualified Human Resources

The fact that Istanbul is the city where Turkey’s young and educated population structure is most shaped makes it one of the best places to reach educated and talented human resources who are most impacted by the technology and innovation offered by the entrepreneurship world. Istanbul, where the world’s leading universities and training centers are located, makes it easier for entrepreneurs to reach young and fresh minds, thus ensuring that they have a qualified team structure.

Investment Opportunities

Istanbul, a city where many local and global angel investors and VCs invest in promising companies, also stands out for its opportunities for entrepreneurs to access investment. In particular, the incentives offered by public institutions to foreign investors opens up a great deal of space for entrepreneurs. In 2021, 1 billion 552 million dollars were invested in 294 investment rounds in angel and VC stages in Turkey, with foreign investors participating in 44 of these investment rounds. With 18 news funds valued at 178 million dollars being established, the total funding value between 2017 and 2021 has reached 850 million dollars.

Easy and Straightforward Procedures

In Turkey, unlike many European countries, incorporation processes can be completed very quickly and easily. Istanbul, home to many public institutions, makes the process of establishing a new company, taking a new step in your company, and getting permission/approval for these steps go smoothly. This combined with comparatively lower costs, provides a great advantage to entrepreneurs.

Low Operating Costs and Expenses

Another important reason why Istanbul is one of the best locations for entrepreneurs is that operating costs and expenses are much lower compared to European countries. Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to cover many costs such as company establishment processes, office opening, rental expenses, and other expenses even with their limited budgets. Similarly, public institutions offer many discounts, incentives, supports and exemptions in this regard.

ITU Seed is Here!

As ITU Seed, we are located in the very heart of Istanbul, one of the most important metropolises of the world, and we aim to elevate startups outside of Turkey to the global level with the numerous supports and advantages we provide. If you are ready to grow your startup with ITU Seed and want to increase your strength on the way to going global, apply to ITU Seed now and join us!

You can visit our website for more details: https://ituseed.com/

You can read our article about the opportunities offered by ITU Seed: https://ituseed.com/bridge-to-global-growth-what-does-itu-seed-offer-to-startups/

You can get current information about our latest updates and content by following us on social media:

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Everything Entrepreneurs Need is Here

ITU Seed, which ranks among the top 5 university incubation centers in the world by Sweden-based UBI Global, offers entrepreneurs all of the support they need in their entrepreneurial journey, such as training, consultancy, mentoring, networking, corporate business partners, press & PR support and capital. ITU Seed, one of the most important entrepreneurship centers in the region, has more than 40 corporate stakeholders, including major public institutions and large institutions from different sectors, providing opportunities and support to more entrepreneurs every year with the contributions of more than 40 investment networks / investor stakeholders.

Over 50,000 Applications from More Than 35 Countries

Of the more than 50,000 applications received to date by ITU Seed from more than 35 countries, providing support to more than 3,500 startups and 7,600 entrepreneurs, 1057 startups have been incorporated. These startups have reached a valuation of more than 301 million euros, received investments of more than 49 million euros and a turnover of more than 23 million euros.

Why Should You Apply to ITU Seed?

ITU Seed is the right address for all entrepreneurs and startups with technological and leading-edge products or business ideas who believe that their product is innovative and suitable for commercial success. If you are an entrepreneur living in a country other than Turkey, and if you have a true desire of going global, ITU Seed is for you!

By applying to ITU Seed;

• You can become part of the strong and rich ecosystem of Istanbul Technical University, one of the world’s oldest and Turkey’s largest technical universities, and ITU ARI Teknokent, one of Turkey’s largest technoparks,
• You can take the first step to going global in Istanbul, one of the world’s largest metropolises,
• You can have access to free open office space and a fully equipped working environment where you will be in the company of other entrepreneurs aiming to change the world,
• You can meet with more than 500 mentors who are experts in their fields and who will support you with anything you may need,
• You can join an entrepreneurship program that will improve your business model and give you new perspectives,
• You can take part in investor meetings where you can create investment opportunities and expand your network,
• You can meet with more than 40 stakeholders, including corporate companies that are leaders of different sectors in Turkey,
• You can take advantage of more than 40 perks such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Hubspot for free or at a discounted rate,
• You can get R&D and infrastructure support such as access to a prototyping lab and other engineering equipment in order to make your start-up scalable and commercial.
• As an ITU ARI Teknokent company, you can benefit from tax advantages in Turkey,
• Using ITU ARI Teknokent’s connections, you can reach local and global contacts that will develop your startup,
• You can find the opportunity to work with specialized and dedicated coaches who will closely follow you and your work on your entrepreneurial journey,
• And you will have the chance to access 42 million euros (according to 2021) worth of award, cash and investments by taking part in the Big Bang Startup Challenge, one of the world’s largest entrepreneurship events, organized by ITU Seed for 10 years.

What Are the Stages of the Entrepreneurship Journey at ITU Seed?

Entrepreneurs applying to ITU Seed are first evaluated in detail. Startups that successfully pass this evaluation join ITU Seed and are included in ITU Seed’s training process. At the end of this process, startups that complete the jury stage meet with corporate stakeholders. Startups that qualify for the Big Bang Startup Challenge held at the end of the year are then selected for the ITU Seed Incubation Program.

Are You Ready to Grow Your Startup and Go Global with ITU Seed?

As ITU Seed, we are a bridge to global growth and we aim to open startups outside of Turkey to the global level by providing numerous types of support and advantages. If you are ready to grow your startup with ITU Seed and want to increase your strength on the way to going global, apply to ITU Seed now and join us!

You can visit our website for more details: https://ituseed.com

You can get current information about our latest updates and content by following us on social media:

• https://twitter.com/itucekirdek
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