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The Türkiye AI Summit convened leading figures from the technology and investment sectors, showcasing Türkiye's growing role in the global AI ecosystem. Organized by the Türkiye Artificial Intelligence Initiative (TRAI) for the eighth time, the two-day event was held under the main theme “Beyond Intelligence." This year's edition welcomed representatives from 340 institutions across various sectors and over 1,500 participants. For the first time, the summit featured three dedicated stages — Vision, Impact, and Innovation — creating a dynamic environment for knowledge exchange and collaboration.
A major highlight of this year's summit was the final of the BAŞLAT LLM Impact Program, a joint initiative by Meta, Hello Tomorrow Türkiye, and TRAI. Designed to promote technology-focused entrepreneurship, the program supports startups developing generative AI and open-source LLM solutions, aiming to foster meaningful impact in Türkiye and beyond. The BAŞLAT LLM Demo Day, held in partnership by the Investment and Finance Office and Meta, featured keynote speeches and an award ceremony celebrating top innovators in the field.
Investment and Finance Office Vice President Bekir Polat and Meta Türkiye and Azerbaijan Public Policy Director Sezen Yeşil delivered keynote speeches on the Vision Stage. In his address titled “Scaling the Social and Economic Impact of AI Technologies in Türkiye and the Broader Region," Polat underlined Türkiye's rapidly expanding technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem, stating that “Türkiye's technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem has grown into one of the fastest growing in Europe. Over the past four years, Türkiye has received more than USD 5 billion in investments in this domain — a testament to our growing digital economy and the investor confidence in our country."
On the Innovation Stage, Investment and Finance Office Communications Department Head Gökhan Yücel and Meta Regional Policy Campaigns and Programs Lead Aanchal Mehta held a fireside chat titled “The Role of Cross-Sectoral Collaboration in AI Adoption." The discussion explored how different industries in Türkiye are integrating AI into their operations. Yücel emphasized Türkiye's strong talent base, noting that “Türkiye boasts one of the largest youth talent pools in Europe — a digitally native generation with a median age of 34 and a growing base of ICT professionals. This demographic advantage gives us the capacity to sustain and scale innovation." He also highlighted early-stage investment growth, adding that “early-stage funding in Türkiye jumped from USD 815 million between 2010 and 2020 to USD 5 billion in the last four years, placing Türkiye among the top performing ecosystems in Europe."
The program concluded with the BAŞLAT LLM Awards Ceremony, where nine finalist startups presented their projects. Investment and Finance Office Sectoral Activities Expert Bilal Şamil Okan served on the jury panel. The top three winners — F-Ray Financial Technologies, OCTAPULL, and Time Reactor — shared a total prize of USD 50,000.
Since its launch in 2020, the BAŞLAT LLM Program has supported more than 80 startups, helping them secure over USD 8 million in investments.