Türk Telekom’s homegrown technology reaches 1 million households

Netsia BB Suite, developed by Turkish engineers at Türk Telekom and its group company Argela, has become the world’s largest deployment of an open-source-based broadband access solution in fiber internet infrastructure.

The fiber network management software, created by Türk Telekom and Argela’s engineering teams, is now being used by one million households.

Operating actively across fiber infrastructure in all 81 provinces of Türkiye, the domestic solution has emerged as the largest implementation of open-source broadband access technologies worldwide.

What does this software mean for subscribers?

In traditional fiber networks, each piece of hardware typically has to be managed through proprietary software tied to its original manufacturer. This increases costs and creates dependence on a single vendor.

Netsia BB Suite removes these constraints through its cloud-based, vendor-agnostic architecture. Devices from different manufacturers can be managed through a single software platform, new services can be deployed much more rapidly, and network faults can be addressed with greater agility.

The result is a more stable, faster and more easily scalable fiber internet experience for subscribers.

Setting standards in telecommunications

Türk Telekom CEO Ebubekir Şahin said reaching one million households is not just a numerical achievement.

Türk Telekom CEO Ebubekir Şahin. (AA Photo)

“It demonstrates that Türkiye is capable of developing standards in telecommunications, producing technologies aligned with those standards and transforming this capability into global competitiveness,” Şahin noted.

“As we continue investing in line with our vision of developing national technologies, we will keep working toward a Türkiye that is more self-sufficient and less dependent on external sources,” he added.

Türk Telekom became the first operator in the world to deploy this technology commercially within a live fiber network in 2021.

Developed as an open-source solution under the Linux Foundation Broadband ecosystem, the software has since remained a core building block both in the rollout of Türkiye’s new fiber lines and in the modernization of existing infrastructure.

Alongside these efforts and its research and development investments in 5G, the company ranked as Türkiye’s leading patent applicant in both 2024 and 2025. Together with Argela and Netsia, it holds more than 70 international patents.

Recognized with global award

Netsia BB Suite’s success has also received international recognition.

At the NetworkX Awards 2025, widely regarded as one of the telecommunications industry’s most prestigious honors, the solution won first place in the “Outstanding Innovation in Multi-Gigabit Fiber Access” category.

Türk Telekom now aims to expand the solution’s footprint through further strategic investments and bring Netsia BB Suite to international markets.

Turkish startups showcase innovations at London Tech Week

Türkiye’s leading technology hub, Istanbul Technical University (ITÜ) ARI Teknokent, took nine startups to London Tech Week, one of the world’s largest technology events, as it seeks to connect Turkish entrepreneurs with international investors and business partners.

Held in London from June 8 to June 12, the event gathered global technology leaders, investors and entrepreneurs to discuss emerging trends including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, green transformation and deep technology.

At the Startup Alley exhibition area, ITÜ ARI Teknokent’s delegation presented solutions spanning aviation, health care, energy and AI, while facilitating direct engagement between Turkish startups and potential international partners.

Global visibility

ITÜ ARI Teknokent General Manager Attila Dikbaş said internationalization sits at the heart of their entrepreneurship strategy.

Turkish startups at the London Tech Week presented solutions spanning aviation, health care, energy and AI. (Courtesy of ITÜ ARI Teknokent)

Dikbaş said they support Turkish startups not only in developing technology, but also in meeting the right investors, business partners and customers.

“World-renowned organizations such as London Tech Week are not just showcases for our companies; they are critical meeting points where they can conduct investment meetings and gain global visibility,” he noted.

Dikbaş said they plan to continue expanding the international footprint of Turkish startups through overseas events and exploration programs aimed at creating new success stories.

Strengthening global reach

The nine startups that participated in the event included Altay Aviation and Space Technologies, Arya AI, Bomensoft, Bulut Klinik, EGN POWER, Elaves, MediSense AI, Synaps AI and Yanhak.

The companies operate across a broad range of sectors, developing technologies including autonomous flight systems, AI-powered health care applications designed to accelerate cancer diagnosis, renewable energy optimization solutions and intelligent education technologies.

Through initiatives that expose startups to international ecosystems, ITÜ ARI Teknokent aims to contribute to Türkiye’s technology exports and strengthen the global reach of the country’s innovation ecosystem.

Turkish AI startup Promake raises $4M to ramp up global expansion

Turkish artificial intelligence startup Promake has raised $4 million in a new funding round aimed at accelerating product development, expanding its team and supporting its ambitions to serve the global small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market.

The investment round of the AI-powered business creation and management platform came shortly after its global launch.

The round was led by venture capital firm 212 and included participation from Ak Portföy GSYF, Arya VC, Gelecek Etki Fonu, JIMCO and Maxis Ventures.

The funding comes shortly after Promake opened its platform to global users, underscoring growing investor interest in AI applications designed to help small businesses manage increasingly complex digital operations.

Promake offers an AI-powered platform that enables entrepreneurs and SMEs to establish and manage their digital presence through a conversational interface.

The system allows users to set up websites, register domain names, create email accounts, launch e-commerce infrastructure, integrate payment systems and manage digital advertising campaigns from a single platform.

From left, Promake co-founding partners Alper Yıldız, Eren Nil, Elvan Süzen, Emre Tekin, Sina Afra, Dinçer Karaduman and Evren Ballı. (Courtesy of Promake)

Rather than navigating multiple software tools and administrative dashboards, users can perform tasks such as adding products, updating webpages, creating marketing campaigns and processing payments through natural-language interactions with the platform.

Over 500M SMEs

Promake is thus positioning itself not as a software, but as a “digital teammate” working alongside the business.

The company says its long-term goal is to build an AI-based business management platform that enables small businesses to access digital capabilities typically associated with much larger enterprises.

“With the new investment round we have completed, we are accelerating the global execution of our vision, which redefines the business creation and management processes of small businesses end-to-end with artificial intelligence,” said Promake co-founder and CEO Emre Tekin.

“Our goal is not just to introduce the product to different markets, but to fundamentally change the way businesses digitalize. In line with this, we are deepening our AI backbone and adding new layers to our product that encompass post-setup processes as well,” Tekin noted.

By reinforcing the team and infrastructure investments, he said the company was entering a period of scalable global growth.

“Our long-term goal is to build a next-generation global platform where more than 500 million SMEs can operate at the same level as large enterprises through a single chat screen,” Tekin said.

Türkiye startup investments jump 8-fold in Q1

Startup investments in Türkiye surged nearly eightfold in the first quarter of 2026, driven largely by a blockbuster gaming transaction, cementing the industry’s locomotive role in the ecosystem.

According to the “Türkiye Startup Investments” report prepared jointly by KPMG Türkiye M&A and venture capital firm 212, the ecosystem recorded a total transaction volume of $559.2 million across 42 deals, including mergers and acquisitions, during the January-March period.

That compares with $70.2 million in the same period a year earlier.

The quarter’s defining transaction was U.S.-based gaming company Scopely’s acquisition of a 50% stake in Turkish game developer Loom Games for approximately $500 million in February.

The deal accounted for the vast majority of total transaction value during the period and highlighted the Turkish gaming industry’s capacity to attract large-scale international capital.

Excluding the Loom Games transaction, total funding across seed, early-stage and late-stage investments amounted to $50 million.

AI investments

Artificial intelligence also emerged as a major investment theme globally and locally.

“During the first quarter of 2026, artificial intelligence investments led by players such as OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI created a significant shift in the venture capital ecosystem,” said Özge İlhan Acar, partner at KPMG Türkiye’s M&A Advisory Services.

“We are observing that investors are becoming more selective and directing capital toward lower-risk startups with stronger scaling potential. While ventures with solid technological foundations and a certain level of maturity can access funding more easily, international investor appetite for early-stage startups appears to be relatively more limited,” Acar said.

“This trend also clearly reveals the areas that the ecosystem needs to prioritize.”

Ali Karabey, managing partner at 212, said the high number of seed-stage transactions demonstrated that entrepreneurial activity at the grassroots level remained strong.

“Large-scale exit successes in the gaming sector indicate that the exit environment for fund managers continues to improve steadily,” Karabey said. “Allocating capital to the right sectors and deepening portfolios will remain decisive factors for long-term success.”

DAILYSABAH