Turkish startup investments soared fivefold in 2024: Report
Total transaction volume in 2024 surged 423% to $2.6B, primarily led by fintech firms, says new report
ISTANBUL
The transaction volume of investments into Turkish startups soared fivefold in 2024, rising 423% to $2.6 billion amid global geopolitical tensions and growing concerns over inflation and interest rates worldwide, says a new report.
Turkish startups’ investment transaction volume surged from $497 million in 2023, while the total number of transactions jumped from 297 to 331 in 2024, the report by consultancy firm KPMG Türkiye said.
The majority of investments into Turkish startups were acquisitions and late-stage investments, the total volume of which reached around $2.3 billion in 280 transactions, it said.
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.
Over 65% of shares in Turkish e-commerce giant Hepsiburada were acquired by Kazakhstan-based Kaspi.kz for $1.1 billion, making up the largest transaction made in the Turkish startup investment ecosystem in 2024.
The second-largest transaction was for Turkish software as a service (SaaS) startup Insider by US-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.
