7 Turkish Unicorns Unleashed: An Engaging Infobytes Showcasing the Nation's Startup Milestones

The unicorn journey started with Peak Games, the gaming powerhouse that became Turkey's first unicorn valued at a staggering US $1.8 billion in 2020, following its acquisition by American social gaming giant, Zynga, in 2020 (now part of Take-Two Interactive Software since its acquisition for US $12.7 billion in 2022). Turkey being home to more than 30 gaming studios worth over US $100 million each, this milestone marked the beginning of a new era for Turkish gaming startups. 

Hot on its heels was Getir, a dynamic player in the "quick" commerce or Q-commerce space; they quickly rose to prominence with its rapid grocery delivery model and achieved a valuation of US $11.8 billion in 2022; this cemented their position as a major force in the tech ecosystem when it became a decacorn by the end of the pandemic. In 2023, Getir saw its valuation slashed to US $2.5bn when it raised a down-round, a telling trend on how high-interest rates and the extended downturn in venture capital markets is shifting fundraising dynamics and forcing valuation corrections across the world.  

Trendyol, leading the MENA region as the largest mobile commerce company, became Turkey's third unicorn and second decacorn, underscoring its substantial impact and success in the digital commerce landscape. Trendyol was last valued at around US $15bn.  

Meanwhile, Dream Games, renowned for its creativity and engaging content, stands out as Turkey's fourth unicorn, and second unicorn in the video game development sector. A few days later, HepsiBurada, an e-commerce business, becomes the first Turkish firm to IPO on Nasdaq hitting a US $3.9 billion valuation becoming the 5th Turkish unicorn. 

Software company, Insider, emerged as Turkey's sixth unicorn with investments from renowned funds such as Sequoia Capital and Riverwood Capital, valued at just over US $1.1bn. The latest addition to this illustrious group is Papara, an electronic payments firm that joined the Turkish unicorn club in July 2023. With over 18 million active users, Papara has become a symbol of Turkey's rapid adaptation to digital payment solutions and its growing fintech sector.

Also, check out our other articles about Turkey's startup scene: Turkey's Path to Unicorn-dom and Inside Turkey's Unicorn Boom: What’s Driving its Startup Success?.