Early stage venture capital company Treeo VC discussed the topics of artificial intelligence-focused entrepreneurship, opening to the US market and cross-border scaling at two events organized in Istanbul on May 14. Treeo VC Founders’ Forum and Treeo VC Investors Night events held at Beylerbeyi Sezen Hanım Mansion; It brought together startup founders, investors, LPs, technology leaders and representatives from the business world.
The main focus of the events was the message that artificial intelligence is not just a new technology trend, but a structural transformation that changes the way companies are established, grown and compete. Focus was emphasized on AI startups that want to expand into the US market. Founders’ Forum Istanbul, held in the first part of the day, focused on artificial intelligence-focused startup founders aiming to grow in the US market.
In the round table format sessions, topics such as establishing a company in the USA, scaling, investor expectations, founder-led sales, compliance processes and expanding to global markets were discussed. One of the prominent messages in the forum was that in the age of artificial intelligence, it has become more critical to focus on a clearly defined customer segment and problem, rather than trying to appeal to a wide market at the same time.
In the speeches, the approach of “focusing on the customer’s problem, not the product” was evaluated as an important reflex for new era founders. Rapid iteration and customer closeness were the prominent topics. According to the evaluations shared at the event, rapid growth and rapid learning culture in the US startup ecosystem are at the center of investor expectations. It was stated that the first 90 days are critical for founders, it has become important for customer discovery to be carried out directly by the founder, and the expectation of speed in investment decisions has increased.
The facilitation of software development with artificial intelligence does not eliminate the need for defensibility of startups. On the contrary, close relationship with the customer, operational knowledge, vertical expertise and continuous learning ability are becoming more decisive. Artificial intelligence investment trends were discussed at Investors Night. At the Treeo VC Investors Night event held in the evening, investors, founders and business leaders evaluated the impact of artificial intelligence on venture capital and corporate companies.
In the panels moderated by Webrazzi Founder Arda Holy and Treeo VC Venture Partner Mine Dedekoca; In addition to Treeo VC founding partners, AirTies Founder Bülent Çelebi, TurboLaw Founding Partner Olcay Sarmaz, Sentez Founding Partner Doğan Turan, Eachlabs Founding Partner Ferhat Budak and Patientdesk AI Founding Partner Öncel Özgül were present. The panel series included topics such as artificial intelligence-focused investment trends, why the USA is still the center in terms of AI capital, the advantages of cross-border founders, artificial intelligence adaptation in large companies and scaling from the USA to global markets.
It was discussed. The influence of US-based capital continues in artificial intelligence investments. According to the data shared at the event, approximately 60 percent of global venture capital investments are directed towards artificial intelligence-focused companies. It was stated that approximately 70 percent of this capital came from US-based investors. This table shows that the US market for artificial intelligence startups is not only in terms of investment amount; It shows that it still plays a central role in terms of large corporate customers, technical networks, rapid experimentation cycles and aggressive scaling opportunities.
In the joint message of Treeo VC Founding Partners Arzu Tekir, Çiğdem Toraman and Didem Altop, it was emphasized that what makes the real difference in the age of artificial intelligence is understanding the customer in depth, making rapid iterations and placing AI at the center of operations, rather than access to technology. The goal of a bridge between Turkey and the global ecosystem is another thing that Treeo VC highlighted during the event.
The title was the approach to building a bridge between the technical talent pool in Turkey and the global technology ecosystem. This model is positioned as a structure that aims to have engineering and product development teams in Turkey take part in the growth process of global companies, instead of a direct brain drain. The fact that many Turkish founder-led startups operating in the USA continue to keep their engineering and technical teams in Turkey creates a significant potential in terms of both knowledge transfer and technology export.
The success of artificial intelligence-focused startups in the coming period; It will depend not only on strong model or product development capabilities, but also on the ability to focus on the right customer segment, learn quickly, access global markets and create sustainable sales channels.
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