Türkiye’s first software unicorn, Insider, has made history by completing Europe’s largest-ever funding round for a marketing technology company.
Despite the challenging investment climate, Insider raised $500 million in a Series E funding round led by General Atlantic, solidifying its position as a pioneer in AI-driven customer engagement and marketing technology.
Under the leadership of its co-founder and CEO Hande Çilingir, Insider has grown into a trailblazer in Türkiye’s entrepreneurial scene. Operating in 28 countries, the company’s artificial intelligence-powered, multichannel customer engagement platform has transformed the marketing industry.
With the latest funding, Insider plans to further develop its next-generation marketing software offering and invest heavily in research and development, focusing on expanding and evolving its AI solutions.
The company also intends to scale its talent base and geographic footprint, leveraging General Atlantic’s global platform.
The company said it plans to increase its regional investments on the back of strong demand in the U.S. market, where it has achieved significant growth. Additionally, it will use the funds to explore strategic merger and acquisition opportunities.
Maintaining its collaborative team culture, Insider has emerged as a profitable venture for its investors while also serving as an inspiration for other startups in Türkiye.
Thriving amid funding winter
Insider’s historic Series E achievement comes in a period marked by tighter funding and valuation challenges.
Securing backing from a globally recognized investor like General Atlantic reflects the company’s strong vision and execution.
The deal represents the largest-ever funding round for a European martech firm, and Insider plans to use the funds to further cement its leadership in AI-driven marketing and expand its footprint globally.
Çilingir’s leadership has also become a symbol of empowerment for women entrepreneurs, demonstrating how visionary leadership can drive technological and societal change.
She continues to champion initiatives supporting Turkish entrepreneurs, emphasizing her commitment to fostering innovation and growth in the region.
From Türkiye to world
Speaking on Insider’s growth and future, Çilingir said with over 350 engineers under their roof, the company has developed AI-powered technologies that address most pressing challenges faced by marketing experts.
“As pioneers of predictive segmentation models that can anticipate future customer experiences, we aim to leverage our decadelong expertise in AI to bring our product road map to life, leading the way in customer experiences with this funding,” she noted.
“We are also focused on enhancing the efficiency of customer experience teams with products developed in the field of generative AI,” she noted.
“With this investment and our larger ventures in AI, our ultimate goal is to become the world’s most widely used and preferred marketing platform.”
Eyes on IPO
According to Emre Kurttepeli, chair of Endeavor Türkiye’s Board, Insider’s achievements mark a pivotal moment for Turkish entrepreneurship.
“The work done by Hande Çilingir and her partners is very valuable. They are in a very challenging sector; international expansion, particularly establishing physical offices and making sales, is one of Türkiye’s weakest areas. There are very few managers in Türkiye who can manage this process because it is something that comes to life with experience,” said Kurttepeli.
Expanding globally is always a discussed topic in the business world, but today, the number of companies expanding from Türkiye to the world in the manner that is being talked about is very few, he noted.
“As an investor, I can say that one of my two most profitable investments is Insider. The entrepreneurs of these mentioned investments are also women. Despite the very low percentage of female entrepreneurs in Türkiye, their success rate is very high,” Kurttepeli added.
He said Çilingir and Insider “have truly done a work that will be a pride for Türkiye.”
Insider’s goal is to be listed on the stock exchange, Kurttepeli noted, stressing there is “no reason” why it should not become the most valuable company to go public in Türkiye.
With its sights set on an initial public offering (IPO), Insider aims to achieve greater success and become one of the most valuable technology companies from Türkiye to expand globally.
According to Çilingir, the contribution of software and artificial intelligence to economic prosperity creates significant opportunities not only for companies but also for countries.
Insider’s success story serves as an example, showcasing the power of female leadership and Türkiye’s entrepreneurial potential.
Kodluyoruz named Europe’s leading deep tech education social enterprise
Kodluyoruz Foundation, a prominent Turkish nonprofit dedicated to providing advanced technology training in Türkiye, has been recognized by the European Union for its significant contributions.
The social enterprise has been awarded the prestigious “2024 DTTI Deep Tech 1st Place Award” by the European Commission’s EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative.
The award was presented at the Deep Tech Days event held in Warsaw, Poland.
The recognition highlights the foundation’s transformative contributions to deep tech education and its status as a trailblazing social enterprise in Europe.
Winning the top award in the NGO category, the organization has become a source of national pride for Türkiye in the field of social entrepreneurship, setting a benchmark for tech-focused education among civil society organizations in Europe.
Encouraged by the award, Kodluyoruz chair Berat Kjamili expressed his pride and reaffirmed the foundation’s mission to scale its impact
“This award celebrates our commitment to deep tech skills training and our success in educating 6,785 talents in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and data science from January 2023 to June 2024. This recognition fuels our resolve to empower future talent,” said Kjamili.
“We are proud to be part of the EIT Deep Tech Talent Promisers community and will continue working toward our shared goal of educating 1 million people in deep tech by 2025.”
Antitrust case could force Google to sell Chrome
Google’s dominance in search and online advertising is facing intense scrutiny as a U.S. antitrust case suggests the company may be compelled to sell its Chrome browser.
At the heart of the case is the allegation that Google uses Chrome to maintain its search monopoly, particularly by setting its own search engine as the browser’s default, which allegedly stifles competition and limits consumer choice.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is pushing for a federal judge to rule that Google must sell Chrome to curb its dominance in the search engine market.
The DOJ argues that Google’s control over Chrome, which is used by over half the global market, stifles competition by making its search engine the default option on many devices.
The proposed remedy would permanently remove Google’s control over this critical access point, allowing rival search engines to compete more fairly.
Google has announced plans to appeal the ruling, which could delay the final decision. If the judge rules in favor of the DOJ, it would mark a significant shift in the tech industry, potentially opening the door for more competitive practices in digital advertising and web browsing.
The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications, not only for Google but also for other tech giants like Meta Platforms, as regulators continue to scrutinize the power of digital monopolies.
Türkiye’s top cybersecurity minds gather to protect national data
One of Türkiye’s leading telecommunications and technology companies, Türk Telekom continues to invest in protecting the country’s data with a vision for cybersecurity that has gained international recognition.
The company’s capability for effective and comprehensive response to cybersecurity incidents has been internationally certified through its membership in FIRST, or Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams.
Türk Telekom, fully accredited as part of the global FIRST community, which brings together cybersecurity incident response and security teams worldwide, will enhance its mission to protect Türkiye’s digital security on an international platform.
Ali Taşkın, deputy general manager in charge of information technology at Türk Telekom, emphasized the company’s leadership in the field.
“Our services and leadership in this field, provided at Türkiye’s largest cybersecurity center by our expert engineers, are recognized by international organizations,” said Taşkın.
“Recently, we were accredited in three categories by the international certification body CREST. Now, being part of FIRST, one of the world’s most significant cybersecurity organizations, confirms our vision and competence in cybersecurity once again.”
Over 250 experts on duty
At Türkiye’s largest cybersecurity center, Türk Telekom, with over 250 expert engineers, provides 24/7 services at global standards.
Continuing its efforts with the vision of protecting Türkiye’s data, the company offers more than 50 cybersecurity services to a total of 7,000 customers. After comprehensive audits, the company’s security solutions, which are provided at world standards, have earned it membership in FIRST.
Enhancing ecosystem
Taşkın said Türk Telekom continues to enhance solutions that strengthen the cybersecurity ecosystem, which it sees as part of its national responsibilities, and deliver services with its expert engineers at global standards.
“We will continue our mission to ensure Türkiye’s digital security more strongly and proactively within an organization that includes the most experienced and competent teams in the world,” he noted.
