Insider becomes 5th Turkish unicorn company

ISTANBUL

With a worth of more than a billion dollars, software giant Insider has become Turkey’s fifth unicorn company after getting investments from two foreign companies.

Established in 2012 by six Turkish friends, Insider first received some $11 million from Sequoia Capital in 2018, while the second investment worth some $32 million came in 2020 from Riverwood Capital.

Another $121 million from the two companies drummed up Insider’s business in a short time.

The company, whose headquarter is in Singapore, has today 25 offices and more than a thousand employees across the globe. The target is to create employment for 2,000 more people in the next four years.

The priority will be on the employment of women, according to Hande Çilingir, the CEO of the company.

“We will use the investments we got to improve our technology and enlarge globally. Hiring women engineers will be our priority,” Hande Çilingir told the daily Milliyet on March 1.

The first Turkish firm that became a unicorn company was Peak Games, with an estimated worth of $1.8 billion in 2020. Getir was a runner-up with a worth of $7.6 billion, while videogame developer Dream Games became third. Trendyol, not only succeeded to be the fourth unicorn company, but also became the first Turkish company to be a “decacorn,” a company worth over $10 billion.

Insider’s software programs are used in more than 800 internet sites broadcasting in five continents.