Entrepreneurs, investors and technopark executives from Türkiye attended Europe’s biggest technology conference this week, encouraged by the record capital the Turkish startup ecosystem managed to attract this year despite global headwinds.

About 26 startups gathered under booths coordinated by the Presidency’s Finance Office at the Web Summit, one of the world’s biggest technology get-togethers, held in the Portuguese capital Lisbon from Tuesday through Friday.

More than 70,000 people were expected to gather for the four-day conference and related events, the first full-scale edition since 2019 following the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Web Summit brings together startups, investors, business leaders and agenda-broadening speakers.

The Turkish startup ecosystem raised a record amount of capital so far this year despite the challenges, including a global slowdown in funding that is threatening the industry’s prospects.

Firms are being roiled by supply chain problems, trade disputes between the U.S. and China, plunging profits and creaky business models, and a wider economic slump that has sent investors and consumers fleeing.

Talks with investors

A record $1.49 billion (TL 27.75 billion) in investments across 208 deals poured into Turkish startups from venture capital funds, private equity funds and corporate-led venture capitalists from January through September, up from $1.44 billion a year earlier, according to the industry monitor startups.watch data.

The investment secured made Türkiye the third biggest receiver of capital in the gaming industry in the world.

The Turkish startups, investors and public institutions representatives at the Web Summit were joined by Türkiye’s Ambassador to Lisbon Lale Ülker and Wealth Fund General Manager Arda Ermut.

The Türkiye booth, located alongside those of major global companies, including Intel, Siemens and Google, aimed at informing visitors and investors about the latest research and opportunities that the Turkish startup ecosystem offers.

The Turkish ventures holding talks with investors at the conference included mainly those engaged in gaming, e-commerce, financial technology and deep technology.

Over 70,000 attendees

Interest in this year’s summit was high, proven by the fact that it was sold out almost three weeks before it kicked off.

The interest prompted organizers to expand the fair area to a maximum of 204,386 square meters.

"The size of this year’s event is extraordinary," said Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrove. "The event space is at maximum capacity and we are welcoming more exhibitors, startups, speakers and investors than ever before."

"We are delighted to be back to full capacity and look forward to continuing to grow in the coming years," Cosgrove said.

More startups and business partners participated in this year’s event than ever before. The exhibition area of the Web Summit was sold out six weeks before the event. It achieved a growth of 57% compared to 2019.