Sabancı Ventures
Istanbul-based corporate venture capital unit of Sabancı Holding that invests in pre-Series A and Series A technology companies, with a $30 million initial fund and a portfolio of 16 companies listed on its website.
Industry: Corporate venture capital | Location: Istanbul, Turkey | Founded: 2020
About Sabancı Ventures
Sabancı Ventures is the venture capital arm of Sabancı Holding, a Turkish industrial conglomerate with interests in financial services, industrials, energy, building materials, retail and digital services. Global Venturing places the unit in Istanbul and dates its founding to 2020. It invests in pre-Series A and Series A companies, usually ones already earning revenue, with tickets its website puts at $500,000 to $4 million, and it calls itself both a financial and a strategic investor.
Seçkin Yelmen has been managing director and head of Sabancı Ventures since 2022, according to Global Venturing's 2024 Powerlist, which also says he oversees corporate venture strategy across several Sabancı Group investment vehicles. He began as an investment banker, then served as chief executive of the Türkiye Development Fund and worked in private equity at ADM Capital. The website lists a 15-member advisory board that includes the chief executives of Teknosa and Temsa.
The website names focus areas including fintech, mobility, healthtech, energy, AI and big data, insurtech, advanced materials, climate tech, IoT, cybersecurity and cloud technology. Its portfolio of 16 companies includes Mantis Robotics, QuEra, Novus, Wellbees, Brandefense, Segmentify, Albert Health and Bulutistan. Sabancı Holding's 2023 annual report says the unit had made 12 direct investments across five countries with more than $12 million deployed, five of them in 2023, and that it uses the UN Principles for Responsible Investment as a guide.
In April 2024 Sabancı Ventures led a bridge round in Wellbees alongside 212 and Enocta, according to Webrazzi; the amount was not disclosed. In June 2026 it was named as an existing investor in Wellbees' $3.6 million Series A, led by Qatar Development Bank.
The initial fund was $30 million, according to the website and Global Venturing. The annual report counts more than 17 direct investments and over $45 million across all Sabancı Group corporate venture vehicles from 2020 to 2023, while Global Venturing, in June 2024, counted 13 direct investments for Sabancı Ventures and more than 20 across the group, with about $50 million invested.
Leadership
- Seçkin Yelmen, Managing Director and Head of Sabancı Ventures
- Ali Çalışkan, Advisory board member, Sabancı Ventures
- Begim Başlıgil, Advisory board member, Sabancı Ventures
- Metin Demirel, Advisory board member, Sabancı Ventures
- Sitare Sezgin, Advisory board member, Sabancı Ventures
- Özer Hıncal, Advisory board member, Sabancı Ventures
- Esra Öge, Advisory board member, Sabancı Ventures
- Evren Güzel, Advisory board member, Sabancı Ventures