Startup Failures in Turkey

Turkish q-commerce pioneer that pioneered 10-minute grocery delivery — reached a $12B valuation and expanded to 9 countries, then executed multiple mass layoff rounds and exited every market outside Turkey in 2024.

The $11.8B quick commerce titan that conquered Gorillas and Blok — then exited every European market in months.

The $11.8B q-commerce giant that conquered Europe then retreated to Istanbul

Turkey's original neobank was killed by its parent after 85% inflation made the numbers impossible.

Turkey's lira freefall in 2021 wiped out Credy's entire loan book overnight.

Turkey's original online marketplace killed by eBay after Trendyol made competition unwinnable.

Thodex's CEO fled Turkey with up to $13B in user funds, earning a 11,196-year prison sentence.

Turkey's payments consolidation after the iyzico mega-deal left no room for Paytrek.

Turkey's gaming crown jewel sold to Zynga for $1.8B, vanishing as an independent studio.

Turkey's original food delivery pioneer swallowed by Delivery Hero for $589M, losing all independence.

Turkey's enterprise computer vision startup destroyed by the lira collapse, not the competition

Turkey's neobank squeezed between Papara's 15M users and a lira that lost 80% of its value

Meal kit and recipe discovery platform for Turkish households

Turkish fashion ecommerce raised $12M then was destroyed by Lira hyperinflation

Turkish payments pioneer acquired by PayU at a soft valuation as macro deteriorated

European healthtech unicorn exited Turkey as lira collapse made economics unworkable

Istanbul's AI travel itinerary platform was double-hit by currency crisis and COVID

Turkish legal AI startup killed by 85% lira depreciation and ChatGPT disruption simultaneously