Technology-supported solutions have begun to attract the attention of people who have experienced weight problems during or before the coronavirus. DigiME, which performs a 3D body analysis supported by artificial intelligence, made an investment agreement of TL 3.8 million ($556,332) under the leadership of the Turkish venture capital firm, Tarvenn.

DigiME aims to become one of the leading big data companies in the field of health technologies by continuing its expansion in the global market with the new investment. It measures body fat rate, daily calorie needs, metabolic rate, ideal weight, muscle ratio, posture disorders and motion. It is enabling high precision 3D body analysis on mobile devices for the first time in the world with the special algorithms it developed.

AI-backed software

The startup recently completed its second investment round with a valuation of TL 15 million and an investment of TL 3.8 million. The investment tour, led by Tarvenn with TL 1.6 million, included national basketball player Sinan Güler, experienced business people Ilter Terzioğlu, Yüksel Açık, Naser Alim, Tolunay Yıldız and Belkıs Kuşçulu Özer, Figen Korun of Keenetsu Forum angel investors, Davut Kohen and Mustafa Bağcı and GirişimTürk, which operates under Turkey's first and only sports-focused venture fund two.zero Ventures and Young Businessmen Association of Turkey (TÜGIAD).

High-precision body analysis

The startup which analyzes and tracks body fat ratio, daily calorie requirement, basal metabolic rate, ideal weight, muscle ratio, posture disorders and movement by scanning the whole body in three dimensions in seconds enables the followup of personal body data with reports and AI-backed recommendations.

Allowing the detection of body and posture disorders in millimeters with its academically validated algorithms and posture analysis solutions, it can be easily used in many different areas with its portable solutions. Appealing to a wide market from sports centers to clinics, dieticians and professional sports clubs thanks to different solutions such as DigiNutrition, DigiSports, DigiClinic, DigiKids, DigiMotion and DigiSize, the startup stands out from its competitors as the only high-precision portable 3D body scanning solution in the world.

9 countries, 14 cities

DigiME founder Derya Kavarna said the startup has gained customers in nine countries and 14 different cities in less than a year. "From the very first day, we started with a global vision and quickly acquired customers in nine countries," Kavarna said. "We plan to continue our growth in the global market with the investment we received on this tour. We wholeheartedly thank all investors who believe in our vision and team, especially the Tarvenn Ventures team and Mustafa Kopuk, who have supported us in all matters, inspired us from day one, and are with us day and night."

The startup has already made sales in countries such as France, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Brazil and the United Kingdom and plans to continue its expansion in the global market with this investment tour.

TechOne fund of TL 200 million set up for tech startups

Actus Asset Management, one of the largest portfolio management companies in Turkey, and Tarvenn Ventures, which has made a name for itself with its recent investments, have joined forces with TechOne, which looks to become Turkey's largest early-stage venture capital fund.

TechOne Venture Capital Fund aims to invest more than TL 200 million in technology startups that have the potential to open up to global markets from Turkey within five years.

Founded under the leadership of Actus and Tarvenn Ventures, the fund plans to invest in at least 50 early-stage startups that produce high technology that can compete in the global market. The TechOne fund, which will offer capital and more than 30 full-time professionals to the said startups, as well as knowledge, experience and connections, aims to increase the global success of technology startups from Turkey with its international connections and experience.

Global focus

The TechOne fund will invest in tech startups without any sector distinction, spearheaded by the areas of artificial intelligence, robotics, medical technologies, advanced materials and the internet of things (IoT). Emphasis will be placed on high-tech startups to grow especially in global markets. Its experienced fund team, which has invested and operated in many different countries, aims to support startups in all areas, thus, ensuring that startups are scaled up quickly, have easy access to continuation investments and produce global success stories.

Two investment groups

Actus, a subsidiary of Global Investment Holdings with a portfolio size of over TL 1.2 billion, is among the largest portfolio management companies in Turkey. The founder of Turkey's first corporate venture capital fund, Logo Ventures, operates in a wide range of fields from technology investments to energy and infrastructure investments with the private capital funds it manages.

Tarvenn Ventures, an Istanbul-based international investment and consultancy firm, offers strategic consultancy services to institutional investors and capital funds, in addition to investing in innovative startups at an early stage. The firm, which has a broad venture portfolio in the health, energy, game, food, agriculture, e-commerce and service sectors, offers information, experience and connections to entrepreneurs with its smart money model. Tarvenn, the operational partner of TechOne fund, will support the selection of invested ventures with its broad team and international experience and rapid growth after the investment.

Focus on early-stage startups

Tarvenn Ventures CEO and TechOne Managing Partner Mustafa Kopuk stated that he believes that global success stories coming from Turkey will increase rapidly in the coming years. "We will contribute over TL 200 million to the startup ecosystem with TechOne, which we are an investor and operational partner. We know that especially early ventures need knowledge and experience alongside capital to grow. We want to create global success stories by supporting our ventures as a teammate in every field they need with our broad and experienced team," he added.

Startup ecosystem meets at PILOT Infoday

Turkey’s leading information and communication technologies company Türk Telekom brought the entrepreneurship ecosystem together at a panel organized by its startup acceleration program PILOT to assess the effects of the pandemic period on entrepreneurship.

During the PILOT Infoday, the managers of successful startups such as Getir, Earlybird and Iyzico shared their inspiring success stories.

During the event, which was held with the theme of New Generation Venture Talks, new opportunities for post-pandemic startups and new startups and technologies on the radar of investors were discussed. The speakers made evaluations about which sector the Unicorn would come from in Turkey, while they put forward a guide for survival for entrepreneurs during the pandemic period.

Rules of game change

"After the pandemic, the rules of the game are changing once again with the new normal, which means new opportunities for many innovative brains and startups," Türk Telekom Strategy, Planning and Digital Assistant General Manager Barış Karakullukçu said at the panel. "Startups that anticipate and realize these opportunities and produce the necessary solutions at the right time will start the game one step ahead."

Karakullukçu underlined that the agile technology startups that started with small formations shaped the world economy. "Turkey has great potential in this sense. It is very important to identify the risks and opportunities brought by new norms," he stressed.

Education and health

Karakullukçu said that they support domestic and national technology startups with the venture acceleration program PILOT. "We have provided over TL 4 million in cash support to 65 entrepreneurs who have graduated from PILOT since 2013," he continued. "Twenty-four of these graduates had the opportunity to grow their innovative business ideas through investment. The PILOT graduates employed 350 people in 2019 and achieved a turnover of TL 41 million."

He further stated that they invested in various fields, especially in the health, education and energy sectors, with TT Ventures, the first corporate venture capital company of the sector they established to support growth startups. In this context, he stated that they continue their services for the digitalization of the health sector, which became much better understood recently, by supporting Turkey's first online health care platform, DoctorTurkey, and the local software company Virasoft, which provides services in the field of digital pathology.

"Our other investment was MentalUP, a gamified education platform, one of the graduates of our PILOT program in the field of education. During the lockdown, the startup managed to gain an important place in the market by raising the number of subscribers to 5.5 million," he added.

On the panel, Getir co-founder Serkan Borançılı, Earlybird investor Cem Sertoğlu and Iyzico co-founder and CEO Barbaros Özbuğutu shared their experiences.