A unicorn is a startup marked at USD 1 Billion or more. These are highly innovative and market disruptive startups. Turkey has more than 35.8K+ startups. Of these, 4 have become Unicorns, with the latest entrant to the club being Papara on Jul 05, 2023. In 2026, Turkey has seen 1 new unicorn startup (as of 31 August).
Globally, Turkey is number 28 in terms of total Unicorns created, behind Thailand (5 unicorns) at rank 27 and Norway (5 unicorns) at rank 26. Istanbul leads the list of cities in Turkey with most unicorns at 3. It is followed by Izmir (1 unicorn) and Sisli (1 unicorn). Among sectors, Consumer has seen the most unicorns created at 2, followed by Mobile at 2, and Enterprise Applications at 1
Here is a list of all 4 unicorns created in Turkey:
4. Papara
Papara joined the Unicorn Club on Jul 05, 2023
Mobile wallet with money transfer and bill payment solutions for consumers. The mobile solution can be loaded with deposits at agent locations or through wire transfers. The stored money can be transferred back to a bank account. The solution allows making online payments, and bill payments directly from the mobile.
Key facts about Papara
- Founded Year: 2016
- Location: Istanbul (Turkey)
- Stage: Funding Raised
- Primary Sector: Payments
- Time to Unicorn: 7 years 6 months
- Top investors : Inclusive Fintech 50
- Employee Count: 491 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Latest Funding Round: Grant (prize money), Oct 20, 2020, $*****
3. Insider One
Insider One joined the Unicorn Club on Mar 07, 2022
Provider of an AI-powered platform for customer engagement across multiple channels. The platform offers customer data management, personalization, journey orchestration, and reporting. It provides tools for web, email, site search, conversational customer experience, and mobile channels. The platform uses agentic, generative, and predictive artificial intelligence.
Key facts about Insider One
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: Istanbul (Turkey)
- Stage: Series E
- Primary Sector: MarketingTech
- Time to Unicorn: 10 years 2 months
- Top investors : Riverwood Capital, General Atlantic
- Total Funding till date: $772M
- Employee Count: 1,903 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Nov 01, 2024, $*****
2. Dream Games
Dream Games joined the Unicorn Club on Jun 30, 2021 after raising a $155M Series B funding round led by Index Ventures, Makers Fund, valuing it at $1B.
Developer of mobile-based casual games. The company offers "Royal Match" a puzzle game where players can compete with others and can earn rewards. The game is available for Android and PC platforms. It monetizes through in-app ads.
Key facts about Dream Games
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: Sisli (Turkey)
- Stage: Series C
- Primary Sector: Mobile Gaming
- Time to Unicorn: 2 years 5 months
- Top investors : Index Ventures, Wejchert Capital
- Valuation: $*****
- Total Funding till date: $468M
- Employee Count: 482 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, May 01, 2025, $*****
1. Getir
Getir joined the Unicorn Club on Jun 04, 2021 after raising a $555M Series D funding round, valuing it at $7.5B.
App based platform offering multi-category grocery products. The product catalog includes snacks, beverages, fruits, vegetables, bakery, dairy, beverages, meat, eggs, seafood, grains, spices, and more. It also provides pet food, baby food products, and more. The application is available on both iOS and Android platforms.
Key facts about Getir
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Istanbul (Turkey)
- Stage: Series E
- Primary Sector: Online Grocery
- Time to Unicorn: 6 years 5 months
- Top investors : Silver Lake, Sequoia Capital
- Valuation: $*****
- Total Funding till date: $2.54B
- Employee Count: 6,779 as on Jul 31, 2026
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Jun 25, 2024, $*****
