Startups attract $858 million in investment in second quarter

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s startup ecosystem attracted a total of $857.9 million across 46 deals in the second quarter of 2025, according to the “Turkish Startup Investments Review Q2 2025” report by KPMG Türkiye and 212.

This marked a sharp increase from $70.2 million in the first quarter of this year.

While the number of deals declined compared to the same period last year, the total investment volume saw a significant increase.

In the second quarter of 2024, 58 deals totaled $558.8 million. This year, the deal count dropped to 46, but the investment volume surged by 53 percent to $857.9 million.

The standout factor behind this growth was Uber Technologies Inc.’s acquisition of an 85 percent stake in Trendyol Go for $700 million.

In Türkiye during the second quarter, the seed stage led in deal count with 27 transactions. Early-stage investments accounted for 10 deals worth $122 million, representing 14 percent of the total volume.

Acquisitions made up 7 deals worth $705 million, representing 82 percent of the total volume.

By sector, SaaS topped the list in deal count with 10 transactions, followed by artificial intelligence (8) and gaming (7). In terms of investment volume, delivery and logistics dominated with $700 million, driven by the Trendyol Go deal.

Local investors led in terms of deal count, while foreign investors dominated in deal volume. Local investors were involved in 33 transactions, accounting for 3 percent of the total deal volume. In contrast, foreign investors participated in only 13 deals but contributed a significantly larger share of the total deal volume — 97 percent.