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 complete 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
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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 meaningful 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.He noted that their San Francisco office brings the dynamism of Silicon Valley to Türkiye while simultaneously opening domestic ventures to global opportunities.
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, Akçiğits data-driven research on the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth serves as an significant 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.
AXA Sigorta Partners with Opinion AI to revolutionize Healthcare Claims with AI-Powered Assessments
The Turkish insurance sector is witnessing a potential turning point with a new partnership between AXA Sigorta (AXA Insurance) and opinion AI.This collaboration aims to transform healthcare claims processing by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to provide faster, more transparent, and scientifically-backed evaluations. The initiative focuses on augmenting the expertise of medical professionals with an AI-powered system, ultimately enhancing the quality of service for policyholders.
AI-Driven Provision Decisions & Digital Twin Technology
The core of the partnership lies in Opinion AI’s technology, which supports every provision decision with evidence from globally accepted scientific sources, offering transparent justification for its assessments. This not only reduces the workload on expert teams but also facilitates a more comprehensive evaluation of each claim.
According to Özlem Elkin, AXA Sigorta’s Deputy General Manager of Health and accident Insurance, a key component of this advancement is the implementation 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,” Elkin explained. by automating routine processes, the system allows medical professionals to concentrate on more complex and nuanced cases.
A human-Centric Approach to Insurance
Yavuz Ölken,CEO of AXA Sigorta,emphasized that the partnership directly supports the company’s commitment to a human-centric approach within the healthcare 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,” Ölken stated. Daily Sabah reports that the system functions as a “smart clinical consultant,” providing a scientific perspective to complement the expertise of AXA Sigorta’s teams.
Key Takeaways:
* Faster Claims Processing: AI automation streamlines routine tasks, accelerating the claims process.
* increased Transparency: Decisions are backed by scientific evidence and clearly justified.
* Enhanced Accuracy: digital twin technology integrates comprehensive patient data for more precise assessments.
* Empowered Experts: Medical professionals can focus on complex cases, leveraging AI for support.
* Human-Centric Focus: The partnership reinforces AXA Sigorta’s commitment to providing quality service to policyholders.
The Future of AI in Turkish Insurance
This collaboration between AXA Sigorta and Opinion AI signals a broader trend towards the adoption of AI in the Turkish insurance industry. By embracing these technologies,insurers can improve efficiency,reduce costs,and ultimately deliver a better experience for their customers. As AI continues to evolve, we can expect to see even more innovative applications emerge, further transforming the landscape of healthcare insurance in turkey and beyond.