Turkish industry minister Kacır says country now has eight 'Turcorn' unicorns
Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır said the country now has eight 'Turcorn' unicorns, companies whose global valuation exceeds one billion dollars. The minister said public funds for the startup ecosystem and artificial intelligence infrastructure investment will support two more candidates next year.
Speaking at a technology entrepreneurs gathering in Ankara, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said the number of Turkish startups whose global valuation has crossed one billion dollars has now reached eight. The ministry highlighted recently launched venture capital vehicles, R&D incentives and international partnership programmes as decisive drivers of that growth.
Kacır said the state-backed Türkiye Development Fund, together with private-sector fund-of-funds structures, could commit a further 1.5 billion dollars over the next twelve months across artificial intelligence, sustainable energy and defence-technology companies. Two further unicorn candidates may be announced conditional on data centre infrastructure expansion, the ministry added.
The minister said Türkiye aims to deepen technology-transfer agreements with the European Union and Gulf countries, and noted that new accelerator programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises will run in parallel. Ecosystem representatives cited talent emigration and currency volatility as the principal risks now facing rapid scaling.
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