Big Bang Startup Challenge to be held in December

ISTANBUL

Big Bang Startup Challenge, Türkiye’s largest entrepreneurship event, will be held in Istanbul on Dec. 18-19 under the theme of "Lead the Future.”

The event is organized every year by İTÜ Çekirdek, the incubation center of İTÜ ARI Teknokent.

Big Bang Startup Challenge will bring together the best startups from Türkiye and around the world with the business, investment and public communities for two days, the organizers of the event said in a statement.

The presentations of the startups taking to the Big Bang stage will be streamed live to global investors and the event will pave the way for the top 50 startups to receive awards and investments, they added.

Last year, Big Bang provided a record-breaking 1.28 billion Turkish Liras in prizes, cash and investment support to startups, and this year's event is expected to provide even more resources, according to the organizers.

As the "World's Best University Incubation Center," İTÜ Çekirdek supports an average of 500 startups annually, the statement noted.

In 13 years, İTÜ Çekirdek has nurtured 4,500 technology startups and helped 1,600 of them to become companies.

In 2022, İTÜ Çekirdek provided 341 million liras in awards, cash and investment support to startups in the Big Bang stage and increased this by three and a half times to 1.28 billion liras in 2023.

In September, İTÜ ARI Teknokent hosted the Big Bang London Demo Day.

At the event, a total of 15 startups took to the stage to present their innovations to over 60 global investors in search of 40 million pounds in investment.