At The Big Bang Startup Challenge Stage, 2.85 Billion TL In Prizes And

Investments Were Given To Entrepreneurs!

With this year’s ITU Çekirdek theme “The Next Wave”, Big Bang Startup Challenge, the meeting point of inspiring ideas, shook the stage of the entrepreneurship ecosystem by breaking records for the 13th time. More than doubling last year’s investment amount, Big Bang reached a new record of TL 2.85 billion this year. At the event, which was marked by fierce competition and inspiring presentations, entrepreneurs presented their technologies to domestic and foreign investors in 7 different sectoral vertical stages. ITU ARI Teknokent General Manager Prof. Dr. Attila Dikbaş announced that ITU ARI Teknokent has invested 25 thousand dollars in Exar, 25 thousand dollars in Fire-Stopper, 25 thousand dollars in Pomeco and 50 thousand dollars in Tumurly. The spectacular event was concluded with an enthusiastic concert by Sertab Erener.

Organised for the 13th time by ITU Çekirdek as Türkiye’s largest entrepreneurship event, the Big Bang Startup Challenge made a name for itself not only with new records, but also with giant steps into the future. This year, under the theme ‘The Next Wave’, the TOP 50 startups brought their inspiring stories to the stage. On the first day, there were presentations in 7 different industry verticals (Automotive and Mobility, supported by the Automotive Exporters’ Association; Energy, supported by the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA) and the Electricity Distribution Services Association (Elder); ITU Seed, where we support international entrepreneurs; Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence; Online Marketplace & Online Platform; Health and Life Sciences; and Talent and Success). In 2023, TL 1.28 billion in awards, cash and investments were announced, and this year, when Big Bang broke its own record, the figure more than doubled to TL 2.85 billion. The start-ups that received great acclaim with the technologies they developed and were entitled to place in the top five by impressing investors were Pomeco, Sensed AI, Waste Log, Aylara Power Solutions and Genoride.

ITU ARI Teknokent, which continued its investor identity and support for entrepreneurs this year, invested $25,000 in Exar, $25,000 in Fire-Stopper and $25,000 in Pomeco among the 50 startups that presented on the Big Bang stage. The investments of ITU Çekirdek startups Bita Enerji, Büyütech, Optimimax, Tekno Sürüm, Elaves, Counterfake, Weartechclub, TailorCast, Glance AI, Tumurly, Hergele, Meetgate, Nativia, Remora, Rumitech and RepG were also announced on the Big Bang 2024 stage. The event also celebrated the investments of a total of 99 ITU Çekirdek startups that received investments in 2024.

ITU ARI Teknokent General Manager Prof. Dr. Attila Dikbaş

Pioneering approach: ‘Develop and deliver together

On the first day of Big Bang, ITU ARI Teknokent General Manager Prof. Dr. Attila Dikbaş shared with participants the 22-year journey of ITU ARI Teknokent and the history of its establishment, development, change and transformation. With the vision of becoming the best technopark in the world, we are working together with an innovation-oriented approach to ensure that Turkey’s technology takes the place it deserves in the global arena’. After this sentence, he gave an evaluation of the first day of the event and gave the floor to ITU Rector Prof. Dr Hasan Mandal to give the opening speech.  The opening speech of the second day was entitled ‘Situation Assessment in the Science, Technology and Innovation Ecosystem: Challenges, Potentials and Opportunities’, ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal said: “Today, with the importance of transformation in R&D and innovation processes, the need for development-oriented skilled knowledge and human resources is becoming increasingly important. Green and digital transformation, defined as the sixth wave of innovation, is expected to radically change business models and provide sustainable lifestyles and cleaner energy systems. At this point, as Istanbul Technical University, we are mobilising our R&D and innovation expertise within the framework of “developing together and achieving together” approaches.

ITU Rector Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal

ITU Çekirdek received over 7 thousand applications for 2024

Prof. Dr. Gülsün Sağlamer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ITU ARI Teknokent, said in her speech: “It’s a great pleasure for us that Big Bang has grown over the years and become an event that’s expected by a wide range of interests. The fact that most of the participants are young people increases our expectations for the future exponentially. Today, Istanbul Technical University crowns its 250 years of honourable and successful history with ITU ARI Teknokent. The fact that ITU Çekirdek received more than 7,000 applications in 2024 is an important indicator of ITU ARI Teknokent’s success. In addition, artificial intelligence continued to be the area that start-ups focused on the most this year. In light of all this, ITU ARI Teknokent continues to have a well-deserved international visibility with its qualifications, location, research organisations, impressive project applications from young researchers and the quality of R&D companies. I wish Istanbul Technical University and ITU ARI Teknokent, which provides a true university environment for students and academic staff with its recognition beyond the borders of our country and its pioneering studies in artificial intelligence and other fields, outstanding success together with all its collaborators.

Prof. Dr. Gülsün Sağlamer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ITU ARI Teknokent

Big Bang stage energy reaches its peak with Sertab Erener concert

Hosted by M. Serdar Kuzuloğlu, this year’s Big Bang Startup Challenge opened new horizons for startups with inspiring speeches from two keynote speakers. On the first day of Big Bang, Memduh Karakullukçu, Partner at D4 Venture, gave a speech titled “Artificial Intelligence: From Big Tech to Entrepreneurs, from the USA to China, Technology that Opens Power Hierarchies to Competition’. On the final day of the event, Global Technology Leader Ayşegül İldeniz gave a speech entitled ‘Running in the Future’. While the LED Drummers team gave the participants unforgettable moments with their stage show, the finale of the event was Sertab Erener’s concert. Erener, who sang her most popular songs from the 90s to today with the participants’ accompaniment, combined her boundless energy with the enthusiasm of Big Bang.

Big Bang Startup Challenge grows stronger every year with its supporters

In Big Bang, Elginkan Foundation is a Diamond Stakeholders; EPDK|Elder and Automotive Industry Exporters Association (OIB) are Platinum Stakeholders; AGESA, AKSigorta, Anadolu ISUZU, Aveon Global Insurance, Bursa Coşkunöz Education Foundation, Eczacıbaşı, EnerjiSA, Ford Otosan, Pegasus, Tat Metal, Teknasyon, Yalçıner Patent, Yandex and Yapı Kredi Technology are Gold Stakeholders. This year’s Big Bang event supporters were Marketing Turkey and Migros Hemen.