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Big Bang Startup Challenge 2023 Raises The Bar To 1.28 Billion TL In Prizes, Cash And Investments For Entrepreneurs 5 dakikada okunabilir

Now in its 12th year, the Big Bang event, which brings together entrepreneurs, investors, companies and technology enthusiasts under the motto “Dream, Dare, Do”, has set a new record worthy of the Republic’s 100th anniversary. Last year, 341 million TL in prizes, cash and investments were announced on the stage of the Big Bang Startup Challenge, but this year the amount increased 3.5 times to 1.28 billion TL. Over the course of the two-day event, entrepreneurs presented on eight sectoral vertical stages. ITU ARI Teknokent General Manager Prof. Dr. Attila Dikbaş announced that ITU ARI Teknokent had invested $20,000 in Newky, $20,000 in Soundbank and $25,000 in Wyseye.

The 12th Big Bang Startup Challenge, which took place on 13-14 December at Uniq Istanbul, once again made a difference with its TOP 50 startups. Presentations were made in eight different industries, and a new record was set in honour of the Republic’s 100th anniversary. In 2022, TL 341 million in awards, cash and investments were announced, while this year the figure increased 3.5 times to TL 1.28 billion. The top five startups at Türkiye largest entrepreneurship event, organised by ITU Çekirdek, were Captanomy, RumiTech, Wyseye, Newky and Powea. In addition to supporting the startups, ITU ARI Teknokent also participated in the event as an investor. Among the 50 startups presented on the Big Bang stage, ITU ARI Teknokent invested $20,000 in Newky, $20,000 in Soundbank and $25,000 in Wyseye. In addition, investments in ITU Çekirdek startups Crowia, Kozalak, Optimimax, Porima, Teklifim Gelsin and The Clico were announced for the first time on the Big Bang 2023 stage. The event also celebrated the investments received by 83 ITU Çekirdek startups in 2023.

In his speech at the event, ITU ARI Teknokent Chairman Prof. Dr. Gülsün Sağlamer referred to research on the criteria for success in global technology and innovation ecosystems, emphasising that ITU ARI Teknokent’s success is also based on similar criteria. Prof. Dr Sağlamer concluded her speech by saying: “The future of our country is you, the youth”.

 

Prof. Dr Gülsün Sağlamer, President of ITU ARI Teknokent

 

ITU ARI Teknokent Positions Itself as a “Global Ecosystem Creator”

At the opening of the second day of the Big Bang Startup Challenge, ITU ARI Teknokent General Manager Prof. Dr. Attila Dikbaş gave a presentation and said, “As one of the first established technoparks, we are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. We continue our mission within the framework of the national development mobilisation based on technology since the foundation of our country. With the mission to “create an exemplary role model for technology development zones in Turkey”, we have always adopted the “Together Forward” approach. When we established ITU ARI Teknokent, we envisioned it as a synergistic ecosystem that lives, sustains, learns and teaches. Today, we have taken this structure far beyond our dreams. That’s why we are positioning ourselves as a Global Ecosystem Creator. The most important unit of the ecosystem we have created is ITU Çekirdek, which was named the world’s best university incubator by UBI Global this year. When we started ITU Çekirdek, we received only 478 applications per year, but now we receive more than 7,000 applications per year. While we could only support 11 start-ups that year, we now support over 500 start-ups every year. In the first year of Big Bang, no investments were made in startups. The awards were only 100,000 TL. Last year, we offered 341 million TL in prizes, cash and investments to startups. Today, we are justifiably proud to have set a new record. This success belongs not only to the ITU ARI Teknokent team, but also to our stakeholders, mentors, entrepreneurs and investors”.

 

Prof. Dr. Attila Dikbaş, Director General of ITU ARI Teknokent

 

Arzu Eryılmaz, Deputy General Manager for Entrepreneurship Programmes and Marketing at ITU ARI Teknokent, also took to the stage to give a presentation on the criteria that influence the success of ITU Çekirdek. Eryılmaz said, “At ITU Çekirdek, we are not only an incubator that supports 500 startups per year, but we also offer a boutique incubation programme to 40 startups selected each year after Big Bang; we provide one-on-one sales and investment acceleration support through our coaches. In addition, every startup that joins ITU Çekirdek remains part of the ITU Çekirdek family for life. We will continue to provide lifelong mentoring and support to all our start-ups.

Deputy General Manager for Entrepreneurship Programmes and Marketing

 

Big Bang stage offered both competition and fun

Hosted by M. Serdar Kuzuloğlu, this year’s Big Bang Startup Challenge also provided unforgettable moments with dance shows by the Istanbul Dance Factory team, DJ performances that kept the excitement going throughout the day, and special sketches by Berk Karan and Çağla Alkan from the Tuz Biber stand-up team. Pop star Mustafa Sandal also performed and sang his favourite songs with the participants. The event, which attracted a lot of interest, also drew a lot of attention to the startup booths in the foyer.

Big Bang Startup Challenge grows stronger with its supporters every year

Elginkan Foundation as Diamond Partner; EPDK|Elder, Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OİB) as Platinum Partner; AGESA, Akbank, AKSigorta, Aktif Ventures, Anadolu Efes, Anadolu ISUZU, Aveon Global Insurance, Coşkunöz Education Foundation, Eczacıbaşı, EnerjiSA, Ford Otosan, ForInvest, Golrang Innovation Center, Smart Solar Technologies, Teknasyon, Yalçıner Patent and Yapı Kredi Technology as Gold Partners support ITU Çekirdek and Big Bang every year to accelerate start-ups and invest in the technologies of the future.