With consumer app builder HubX, Türkiye just gained its eighth unicorn – a startup valued at $1 billion or more.
Izmir-based HubX announced on Aug. 28 that it raised up to $75 million from Point72 Private Investments at a $1.2 billion pre-money valuation, marking it the latest unicorn or "Turcorn," following giants such as Trendyol, Getir and Insider.
The company, in a public statement, said it was its first external investment, consisting of an initial $50 million investment and an option for an additional $25 million.
Founded in 2022, the startup, which focuses on artificial intelligence-focused mobile products and consumer apps, says it has grown to more than 370 people across Izmir and Istanbul, with a portfolio of over 40 mobile and web products. They collectively reached more than 600 million users across over 190 countries, according to HubX.
Meanwhile, mobile app developers expect the success of HubX to increase the number of new Turcorns emerging in the sector.
Volkan Ekiz, the chairperson of the board of the Türkiye Mobile Application Developers and Publishers Association and the chair of the Mobile Applications Committee of the TOBB Türkiye Software Council, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that HubX’s achievement represents a turning point for the industry.
Pointing out that HubX's journey from the western province of Izmir to reaching hundreds of millions of users in more than 190 countries is the clearest evidence that Turkish mobile application developers can compete on a global scale, Ekiz described it as a "success for the entire ecosystem."
"Until now, Türkiye's unicorn story has largely been told through e-commerce and gaming companies," he said, in reference to companies such as Trendyol, Hepsiburada, Peak Games and Dream Games.
"With HubX, the mobile application industry has earned a well-deserved place of its own on this list," he suggested.
"As the association and the TOBB Türkiye Software Council, we see this not merely as the success of a single company, but as a success for the entire ecosystem," he added.
Ekiz also emphasized that the public sector’s support has played a role alongside the efforts of entrepreneurs in driving this growth.
"The work carried out by the Service Exporters' Association for the software industry, along with the Ministry of Trade's grants for R&D, marketing, and overseas operations, play a decisive role in helping our mobile application companies grow in global markets," he noted.
"Without these support mechanisms, most of the growth stories we are discussing today would not have happened at this pace. Our association is working closely with the relevant institutions to ensure that these support programs reach more ventures across the industry," he also said.
Mesut Numanoğlu, a civil society organization representative on the Mobile Applications Committee of the TOBB Türkiye Software Council, on the other hand, pointed out that HubX's rise is part of a broader trend in the global market.
Numanoğlu noted that recently released data shows that consumer spending in the App Store in the U.S. declined in the second quarter of this year for the first time in the past decade.
"There is a critical distinction here: the main source of the decline is the gaming category. While consumer spending on games worldwide has entered a downward trend, non-gaming mobile applications are continuing to grow while maintaining their momentum," he argued.
"We are seeing in-app revenue within the Apple ecosystem shift from the gaming industry toward the broader mobile application industry. With HubX becoming a unicorn, we expect the next unicorns to emerge not from the gaming industry, but from the mobile application sector," he maintained.
"This is also a critical signal in terms of Türkiye's technology export strategy," he added.
Commenting also on the development, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır hailed the young company and pledged to continue supporting the tech startups.
"Our new Turcorn is from Izmir! HubbX, which has exceeded a billion-dollar valuation, develops mobile applications and artificial intelligence tools, and reaches 600 million people in 190 countries with its products, continues its R&D activities in Technopark Izmir on the Izmir Institute of Technology campus," he wrote in a post on X.
"I congratulate the HubX team, which is only 5 years old and has reached a valuation of 1.2 billion dollars," he added.
"We will continue to support our technology startups with our R&D incentives."
