In 2024, the fierce competition between the United States and China for technological supremacy took center stage, with a particular focus on strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors and clean energy technologies.
In the startup ecosystem, the race for dominance saw both the U.S. and China investing heavily in AI and semiconductor technologies, while in Europe, 70% of total investment deals were concentrated in Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
In the U.S., Anduril secured a $1.5 billion investment deal, marking a strategic move to enhance its leadership in AI-driven defense technologies. Companies like ChatGPT-maker OpenAI are expanding the U.S.'s global influence in generative AI, with major players like NVIDIA, Google and Microsoft leading the development of AI-focused hardware and software infrastructure.
Meanwhile, China is concentrating on developing generative AI and language models, with Baichuan AI standing out after raising $688 million in a Series A round, highlighting China's AI-centric growth strategy. Technology giants Alibaba and Tencent are investing in cloud and AI-based applications across healthcare, fintech and e-commerce.
The need for powerful computer chips required by AI applications has intensified the semiconductor rivalry.
U.S. giants like NVIDIA dominate AI-powered chips, while China, through companies like SMIC and Huawei, strives to reduce dependence on the U.S.
The U.S. collaborates with European companies, such as the Dutch ASML, for semiconductor production and development, expanding its local manufacturing capacity. The federal support initiated by the CHIPS Act (2022) has strengthened companies like Intel, AMD and Qualcomm, with expectations of continued similar policies under President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite U.S. sanctions, China is boosting its domestic production capacity, with SMIC achieving significant progress by reaching 7 nm chip production and Huawei making bold strides in developing its chip technology.
China invests billions of dollars into the semiconductor industry to reduce dependence on imported chips. The U.S. maintains its leadership in high-performance chips by strengthening ties with ASML in the Netherlands for lithography equipment, while China develops its solutions for lithography technologies.
According to CB Insights, the number of global AI deals in the third quarter of 2024 increased by 24% from the previous quarter, reaching 1,245 – the highest since the first quarter of 2022. However, funding declined by 29% due to a decrease in large rounds exceeding $1 billion.
In 2024, the global startup ecosystem saw significant activities in sectors such as AI, clean energy, biotechnology and fintech, with regional variations in investment deals and the emergence of new unicorns and large-scale funding rounds.
While Huawei's rise as a competitor to Apple in smartphones has been curbed by ecosystem strength and operating systems, its presence in the automotive industry continues to grow.
U.S. export controls limit China's access to technology, prompting China to establish new supply chains.
The U.S. is increasing investments in renewable energy storage, battery technologies and hydrogen energy. Electric vehicle maker Tesla reinforces U.S. leadership with energy storage systems and battery innovation. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has accelerated clean energy investments in the U.S. with substantial incentives.
China leads globally in solar panel production and lithium battery technologies, producing over 70% of the world's solar panels. Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) is the world's largest producer of lithium-ion batteries, leading the market with cost-effective production.
The U.S. increases investments in lithium mining and domestic battery production, with IRA incentives potentially challenging China's global market dominance.
The strategic competition between the U.S. and China in these areas accelerates technological advancements and reshapes global supply chains. As the race deepens into 2025, particularly in AI and semiconductors, the balance of cooperation and competition among countries will be redefined.
The winner of this race will be the one who best manages innovation speed and supply chain security.
In pre-seed and early-stage startup investments, Turkey gained momentum with projects backed by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBITAK).
However, during global peaks in AI investments, Türkiye's investments remained limited.
TÜBITAK's Role: In 2024, the council focused on technology-based startups, supporting over 100 projects with entrepreneurship funds, typically providing initial investments ranging from TL 1 million to TL 3 million ($28,250 - $84,750).
The average seed investment in Türkiye was significantly below the global average of $3 million observed in AI startups. This indicates a funding gap in Türkiye's entrepreneurial ecosystem and highlights the need to increase private sector investments.
As noted in Goldman Sachs' AI blog, "While the United States, China and Russia may not agree on many things, they all agree that AI can reshape power balances."
This view is supported by the AI Now research institute, which states, "AI is now positioned as a critical strategic technology for the geopolitical and economic goals of nation-states."
The AI race is particularly intriguing due to the stark contrast in the two superpowers' approaches to technological innovation.
China follows a strategy characterized by central planning, with direct state funds allocated to specific AI projects and the development of national computing centers. Conversely, the U.S. relies heavily on private enterprises utilizing open-source models.
U.S. government support has remained relatively modest, and export controls on the sector were limited until recently. However, the U.S. model demonstrates stronger capabilities for ecosystem creation. China's defensive details make it difficult to garner global support.
Despite the robust support for pre-seed and seed-stage entrepreneurs in Türkiye, many startups struggle to reach Series A and beyond.
Consequently, only a limited number of startups manage to establish a successful corporate culture at advanced stages. This is where Insider's journey, started by six founders, becomes especially significant.
An AI-based multichannel experience and cross-channel customer engagement platform, Insider made headlines in 2024 with a $500 million Series E funding round led by the prominent global investor General Atlantic.
The tech company plans to make substantial investments in research and development (R&D) to further enhance its next-generation marketing software offerings and expand its AI solutions.
Leveraging General Atlantic's global platform, Insider also aims to scale its talent base and geographical footprint.
Catering primarily to global companies, Insider stands out among Turkish unicorn startups by showcasing a strong software company culture and ecosystem creation success.
Its story highlights the importance of building a resilient corporate culture and the potential of Turkish tech startups on the global stage.
One of Türkiye's leading telecommunications and technology companies, Türk Telekom's CEO Ümit Önal, welcomed the new year in the southeastern city of Mardin, continuing the tradition of spending New Year's Eve with field teams in various cities, underscoring the company's dedication to infrastructure investments across Türkiye.
Having started this initiative in 2020 in Erzurum, where he joined teams working in -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), Önal this time marked the arrival of 2025 with employees in Mardin.
The practice emphasizes the company's commitment to providing accessible high-speed internet across all 81 provinces of Türkiye by weaving the nation with fiber networks.
Türk Telekom aims to enrich the digital experience with its "Fiber Mobility" initiative, which outfits LTE mobile base stations with end-to-end fiber. As of New Year's Eve, the company's fiber network extended to 474,000 kilometers (294,530 miles).
In Mardin, where the fiber penetration rate nears 100%, Türk Telekom has raised the access speed capacity to 487 Mbps, exceeding the national average.
Nationwide, the company has the infrastructure to offer speeds exceeding 300 Mbps and provides 1 Gbps access speed to over 9 million households.
These visits highlight Türk Telekom's vision of delivering services to every corner of Türkiye, even under challenging weather conditions. Each visit demonstrates the value placed on the company's infrastructure projects and employees.
By welcoming the new year in different cities, Önal fosters solidarity with employees and showcases the company's dedication to service excellence to the public.
