The total size of the StartersHub Fund, one of Turkiye’s leading early-stage technology investment funds, reached $18.1 million. StartersHub invested in 7 startups and completed 3 exits in 2022.
Founded in 2015 and considered among Turkiye’s leading early stage technology investment funds, the total fund size of StartersHub reached $18.1 million. Having completed 2022 with 3 exits, StartersHub also made 7 investments, 5 of which are new and 2 of which are continuing investments.
Arda Askin, Managing Director of StartersHub, emphasized that they focused especially on B2B companies in 2022 and increased the number of active startups in their portfolio to 37, he stated that they will increase their investments in artificial intelligence, HRtech, fintech, edtech, productivity, cyber security, developer tools and logistics technologies in 2023. StartersHub aims to invest in 10 new startups each year.
All of Paymes, one of the startups in the StatersHub portfolio, providing instant payment solutions to millions of freelancers, artisans, consultants, individual business owners, personal trainers and micro-sellers in the MENA region, was acquired by PayTaps in 2022 and the company accelerated its activities in markets such as Uzbekistan, Jordan and Georgia.
B2B-oriented solutions of PulpoAR, which focuses on augmented reality technologies, were acquired by the Glimpse Group, which operates in the similar sector. In addition, Tridi, which joined StartersHub 1 year ago, was acquired by Xometry and became the company that StartersHub exited as soon as possible. The company continues its activities as Xometry Turkiye.
Arda Askin stated that StartersHub examined more than 2,000 domestic and foreign startups in 2022, and that they included nearly 500 startups in the first stage evaluation, and stated that they focused on founders and startups that develop scalable solutions to critical problems, make real impact and have the potential to radically change their industries.
The 2022 investments of StartersHub, which has invested more than $5.1 million since its establishment, are listed as follows:
- Delivers.ai: Focusing on contactless food and grocery delivery delivery with autonomous robots it has developed, the company offers automated cost-effective delivery service.
- Earnado: It is an award-winning digital marketing system with its solution that makes marketing decisions based on digital marketing strategies created by algorithms.
- Kassa: Standing out as a budget tracking and wallet application that can be created individually or with a group of friends, where all income and expenses can be tracked, Kassa also offers 24/7 free money transfer and chat features.
- Quin AI Audience Engine: The AI solution focused on predicting user behavior in an easy, accessible and privacy-safe manner, Quin contributes to 50% savings in marketing costs and 30% revenue growth for businesses.
- DatAnchor: StartersHub’s last-minute investment in 2022 and developed at Ohio State University, DatAnchor focuses on file protection through a combination of transparent encryption, continuous multi-factor access controls, and digital chain of custody.
It is known that 8 startups in Startershub’s portfolio received a total investment of 4.2 million from domestic and foreign investors in 2022 and increased their valuations. Stating that they see the startups in their portfolios as strategic partners and open their investor networks to entrepreneurs by holding regular strategy meetings, Startershub Managing Director Arda Askin said that companies such as Segmentify, Cognitiwe, Workiom and Livad, which are under the umbrella of Startershub, have moved their headquarters to countries such as the United Kingdom, Estonia, and the USA, while companies such as Lumnion and Kolaybi have opened their offices in Germany and started their overseas operations.
Startershub plans to continue investing in early-stage startups focused on B2B technology in 2023 and beyond.
Source: Egirisim / Prepared by Irem Yildiz