Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır announced that Türkiye had so far allocated TRY 5.8 billion in public resources to the growth trajectory of startups through fund-of-funds and co-investment models. According to figures he presented during the “Terminal İstanbul: Ecosystem Meeting” event at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, these resources contributed to the formation of funds totaling TRY 130 billion, while 1,091 technology companies received total investments of TRY 175 billion.
The announcement comes as part of a broader government focus on artificial intelligence, biotechnology, semiconductors and quantum technologies, considering them fields that are reshaping production, trade, security and social life. Kacır said technology startups are leading part of this transformation thanks to their ability to develop innovations and quickly turn them into economic value.
Growth and Financing Objectives
The minister said Türkiye currently has eight unicorns, or what the government calls “Turcorns,” after having had no companies with this status until 2019. By 2030, the government aims to see 100,000 technology companies emerge and the combined value of Turcorn companies reach approximately $100 billion.
As part of its support for international expansion, Türkiye launched the Turcorn 100 program and activated the TechVisa program in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to attract global technology talent. Kacır said the program had enabled more than 5,500 technology specialists to join Türkiye’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, with the possibility of obtaining work permits within approximately two weeks. He also pointed to efforts to allocate an additional $300 million in public funds to venture capital funds.
What Is Changing in Practice?
The figures show a shift in government support from individual grants to financing mechanisms intended to attract private capital and cover different stages of company growth. However, the source does not explain the distribution of investments among sectors, the eligibility conditions or the commercial results of the funded companies; therefore, these data alone cannot be used to assess capital efficiency or the extent to which these companies are sustainable in global markets.
Kacır said Türkiye has more than 13,000 technology companies in 115 technology zones, in addition to more than 1,700 research and development and design centers. According to his presentation, approximately one million university graduates enter the talent market each year, while programs such as Deneyap Teknoloji Atölyeleri, Sektör Kampüste, Milli Teknoloji Uzmanlık Programları and Milli Teknoloji Atölyeleri aim to train young people in future skills.
Terminal İstanbul as an Innovation Hub
The most prominent part of the announcement focuses on Terminal İstanbul, a project to transform the Atatürk Airport terminal building into an entrepreneurship and innovation hub. Kacır said the center would cover approximately 200,000 square meters of indoor space and host thousands of companies, with workspaces, incubators, acceleration and mentorship programs, prototyping and joint-production centers, and research and development laboratories.
In the first phase, an area of approximately 5,000 square meters was completed to bring together entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners, and the government aims to make Terminal İstanbul fully operational during the next year. During the event, more than 60 institutions and companies signed a memorandum of cooperation, including Meta, Google, AWS, Samsung, Microsoft, Trendyol, Techstars Istanbul, ASELSAN and ROKETSAN.
The minister’s data indicate that Istanbul has 19 technology zones in which more than 4,100 startups operate, and that seven of Türkiye’s eight Turcorn companies emerged there. This means the project is betting on concentrating financing, incubators, industrial companies and talent in one location, but its success will practically depend on turning the announced agreements into scalable financing programs, partnerships and products—details that the source did not specify.