Türkiye Targets $1 Billion Venture Capital and 13 Turcorns by 2027

Türkiye wants to double annual venture capital investment from roughly $500 million to $1 billion and grow its stable of homegrown unicorns — dubbed Turcorns — to 13, according to the 2027 Presidential Annual Program. The plan, reported by Anadolu Ajansı on 2 November 2026, ties the targets to broader goals: better access to financing, stronger domestic innovation capacity and a sharper edge in global tech competition.

What does the program actually change?

Ankara plans to launch new calls for proposals under an investment-based support program designed to speed up the growth of early-stage high-tech firms. The document also commits to a set of financing tools to keep capital flowing to startups:

• Venture capital fund calls
• Fund-of-funds mechanisms
• Co-investment instruments

The Technology and Innovation Fund will keep investing actively through the end of next year, the program states.

On the bureaucratic side, the government plans to launch a digital platform that streamlines administrative processes for tech- and innovation-focused startups. Startups awarded a tech startup badge will get priority access to support, incentives and public procurement. Their products will also be folded into the State Supply Office catalog — a move aimed at commercialization and branding, not just prestige.

Is the pipeline already delivering?

The numbers suggest momentum predates the new targets. Türkiye's Scientific and Technological Research Council (Tubitak) received 2,844 applications to its entrepreneurship support programs between January and September. That volume signals demand well beyond what a $500 million annual VC market can typically absorb.

The Tech Visa program, aimed at remote professionals, global investors and international talent, is also producing results. Work is underway to accelerate its promotion and pull participants into the domestic ecosystem. So far the initiative has drawn 634 tech startup applications, produced 135 approvals and led to roughly 60 new tech startups operating in the country.

How much European money is involved?

EU pre-accession funding forms a second pillar of the strategy. Under the Competitive Sectors Program, run through the EU's Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, Türkiye has completed 43 projects worth a combined $291.2 million during the IPA-II period. Another 16 projects are planned with a budget of $65.4 million for the IPA-III period.

Türkiye has also widened its footprint in the Digital Europe Program. Some 118 Turkish institutions secured $16 million in funding across 21 projects. Separately, the European Digital Innovation Hubs granted $8.4 million to eight consortia.

What's the so-what?

The program effectively puts a number on Ankara's startup ambitions — a $1 billion VC market, 13 Turcorns — and backs it with concrete instruments: badge-based procurement preferences, a digital red-tape platform and layered investment funds. Whether the target holds depends on execution through 2027, starting with the new investment-based support calls and the Tech Visa push now underway.