Turkish startups attract record investment inflows in 2024
A close-up of a business handshake, symbolizing partnership, investment deals, and successful agreements. (Adobe Stock Photo)
Investment inflow to Turkish startups soared 5 times in 2024 compared to the previous year, as the total number of transactions increased from 297 in 2023 to 331 in 2024, while the disclosed transaction volume rose from $497 million to $2.6 billion.
According to the “Turkish Startup Investments Review” report released on Thursday by the Netherlands-based professional services network KPMG, the majority of investments in Turkish startups consisted of acquisitions and late-stage investments, with a total volume of approximately $2.3 billion across 280 transactions.
The Turkish financial technology (fintech) sector saw the highest number of transactions with 31 deals into startups in 2024, followed by biotechnology with 28 and artificial intelligence (AI) with 25.
Most remarkable investments in Turkish startups in 2024
Among the most notable investments in Turkish startups, Kazakhstan-based Kaspi.kz acquired over 65% of shares in Turkish e-commerce giant Hepsiburada for $1.1 billion, marking the largest transaction in Türkiye’s startup investment ecosystem in 2024.
The second-largest transaction was for Turkish software as a service (SaaS) startup Insider by U.S-based General Atlantic with $500 million, followed by logistics startup Getir by Emirati firm Mubadala Investment with $250 million.
In other high-volume transactions, all the shares of the fintech firm Paynet were acquired by Turkish payment company iyzico for $87 million, and mobile game startup Paxie Games’ shares were bought by South Korean DoubleU Games for $67 million.
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) maker Altinay Defense raised $58.5 million from its public investors, while mobile game startup Spyke Games received $50 million from Israeli firm Moon Active for 15.9% of its shares.
Turkish mobility startup BinBin gained $45.7 from its public investors, fintech firm Midas received $45 million from Canadian, American, German, and Turkish investors, while 65% of shares in SaaS startup Bulutistan were bought by Dutch firm DxBV for $39 million.
