Turkish startups attract $79 million investment in first quarter

ISTANBUL

The total deal volume in the Turkish startup ecosystem, including acquisitions, has amounted to $78.9 million in the first quarter of 2023 with 53 deals, shows a report by KPMG Türkiye and 212.

Global startup funding carried out $76 billion, which indicates a sharp decline, compared to the record-breaking first quarter of last year, the report noted.

“The Turkish startup ecosystem also showed a similar downward trend. Total deal volume reached $45.2 million, which pointed to a sharp decline compared to record-breaking $1 billion in the first quarter of 2022 and $153 million in the fourth quarter of last year,” the report said.

Startup acquisitions constituted the largest share in total deal volume with 43 percent, while seed-stage investments accounted for 39 percent of the total volume, followed by 18 percent of early-stage investments.

In terms of deal number, seed stage investments ranked first with 42 transactions, followed by nine acquisitions.

There were two early-stage investments, Hopi and Rem People, totaling $14.5 million.

Foreign investors’ share in total deal volume was 25 percent with six deals, while local investors’ deal volume was $59 million with 47 deals, the report said.

Maçkolik’s acquisition at $17.2 million was the largest transaction in the first quarter.

“Fintech, SaaS and Gaming verticals continued to be attractive destinations for both local and foreign investors. Another spotlight was on the AI sector, in line with its increasing popularity and penetration,” the report said.

Fintech and SaaS were the leading verticals in terms of the number of deals, with seven deals for each of them, followed by six deals in the gaming vertical, four deals in education and three deals in artificial intelligence.