500 Labs

500 Global, formerly known as 500 Startups, is a venture capital firm and incubator based in Mountain View, California, founded in 2010. The firm specializes in seed investments, primarily focusing on early-stage technology and financial services startups across various sectors, including biotech, e-commerce, fintech, and digital healthcare. 500 Global operates a four-month accelerator program, where it typically invests between $0.05 million and $1 million for a 5 to 10 percent equity stake in companies with at least $100,000 in monthly revenue. The firm targets a global market, with particular emphasis on regions such as the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Since its inception, it has invested in over 2,200 startups and supports the growth of innovation ecosystems through educational programs and partnerships. 500 Global also prioritizes investments in companies led by minority founders, reflecting its commitment to diverse entrepreneurial leadership.

Amjad Ahmad

General Partner

Chandini Ammineni

Partner

André Marcel Bally

Investor Relations Associate

Timothy Chae

Managing Partner

Amal Enan

Partner

Max Fram-Schwartz

Venture Partner

Christine Herron

Advisor

Twwo Pun Jaruthassanakul

Investment Associate

Yolanda Kim

Principal

Matt Lerner

Partner

Jon Li

Director, Investor Relations

Jasmine Liew

Investment Manager

Robert Neivert

Venture Partner

Khailee Ng

Managing Partner

Krating Poonpol Ph.D

Partner

Ruangroj Poonpol

Venture Partner

Natavudh Pungcharoenpong

Partner

Mameaw Sapprasert

Partner

Reena Sharma

Investor Relations Associate

Mike Sigal

Partner, FinTech

Sanjay Singhal

Partner, Canada

Tanya Soman

Venture Partner

Paulina Szyrmer

Head of Global Education

Pat Naranpat Thitipattakul

Investor

Christine Tsai

Co-Founder, Partner & Chief Executive Officer

Tony Wang

Managing Partner

Bedy Yang

Managing Partner

Paul Yoo

Chief Financial Officer

Past deals in Turkey

Cypher Games

Pre Seed Round in 2022
Cypher Games is a mobile gaming company that specializes in developing casual and puzzle games for users. The company is focused on creating innovative mobile merge games and aims to lead in this segment of the gaming industry. By collaborating with colleagues, investors, and thought partners, Cypher Games seeks to shape the future of mobile gaming and provide a diverse range of gaming experiences. Its mission is to empower gamers and contribute to a global success story in the mobile gaming landscape.

ikas

Seed Round in 2022
ikas is a cloud based POS software for retailers

Whole Surplus

Venture Round in 2021
Whole Surplus is a B2B food surplus management platform based in Istanbul, Turkey, founded in 2017. The company specializes in helping retailers manage unsold inventories effectively, maximizing both financial recovery and environmental benefits. Whole Surplus provides a technology-driven solution that allows retailers to donate unsold food to food banks or recycle surplus products. As a SaaS provider, it serves some of the largest retailers in Europe, facilitating improvements in their bottom line and aiding in the management of sourcing decisions at the SKU level. This approach not only addresses economic concerns but also contributes to social and environmental sustainability.

Lifemote

Venture Round in 2021
Lifemote offers AI-driven Wi-Fi analytics that detects home network issues and proactively solves them before the customers complain. Lifemote is a SaaS platform for Internet Service Providers, which uses AI to proactively find and fix home network issues before subscribers complain. The Support Center view for first-line support lists issues with actions that are simple to follow up on. Misplaced repeaters, legacy client devices, and poor coverage are examples of such issues. Lifemote has a topology view that the agent can use to identify problems. Lifemote is currently deployed in ISPs in Norway and Turkey, and close to deployment in Finland.

Kolay

Seed Round in 2020
Kolay is a SaaS platform that combines employee engagement with core HR needs. We are helping HR professionals to streamline their day to day tasks with an easy to use and smart platform.

Evreka

Series E in 2020
Evreka Yazilim A.S. develops smart waste collection systems. It develops Evreka smart waste collection system, a wireless sensor that can measure the garbage bin fillness level and send this information to cloud using machine to machine technology. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Cankaya, Turkey.

Kondukto

Venture Round in 2019
Kondukto is a recent start-up from Istanbul backed by a VC fund which spun out of a seasoned managed cyber security services company with more than 10 years of experience in the industry. Rendering security services to the largest financial institutions, e-commerce and energy companies made us realize a gap that would be filled with a particular product. That is how they started working on Kondukto to let their customers automate and centralize the tedious tasks associated with application security testing processes. On the constantly evolving landscape of cyber security, they strive to provide their customers with a tool that is wholly integrated to their software development life cycle which lets them get security out of the way of development as quickly as possible.

Kondukto

Seed Round in 2019
Kondukto is a recent start-up from Istanbul backed by a VC fund which spun out of a seasoned managed cyber security services company with more than 10 years of experience in the industry. Rendering security services to the largest financial institutions, e-commerce and energy companies made us realize a gap that would be filled with a particular product. That is how they started working on Kondukto to let their customers automate and centralize the tedious tasks associated with application security testing processes. On the constantly evolving landscape of cyber security, they strive to provide their customers with a tool that is wholly integrated to their software development life cycle which lets them get security out of the way of development as quickly as possible.

Whole Surplus

Seed Round in 2019
Whole Surplus is a B2B food surplus management platform based in Istanbul, Turkey, founded in 2017. The company specializes in helping retailers manage unsold inventories effectively, maximizing both financial recovery and environmental benefits. Whole Surplus provides a technology-driven solution that allows retailers to donate unsold food to food banks or recycle surplus products. As a SaaS provider, it serves some of the largest retailers in Europe, facilitating improvements in their bottom line and aiding in the management of sourcing decisions at the SKU level. This approach not only addresses economic concerns but also contributes to social and environmental sustainability.

Enhance Ventures

Seed Round in 2018
Enhance Ventures is a venture builder based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, focusing on developing web and mobile-enabled businesses in the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan, and Turkey (MENAPT) regions. Founded in 2015, the company aims to create online platforms that provide life-enhancing products and services. Among its notable portfolio is joi, a leading online gift aggregator in the Middle East, which facilitates the selection and purchasing of gifts. Additionally, Enhance Ventures operates MEDIGO, a global marketplace for medical travel that streamlines the process of searching, booking, and arranging healthcare services abroad. The firm has attracted investment from various sources, including venture capital funds and prominent angel investors from the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.

Whole Surplus

Seed Round in 2017
Whole Surplus is a B2B food surplus management platform based in Istanbul, Turkey, founded in 2017. The company specializes in helping retailers manage unsold inventories effectively, maximizing both financial recovery and environmental benefits. Whole Surplus provides a technology-driven solution that allows retailers to donate unsold food to food banks or recycle surplus products. As a SaaS provider, it serves some of the largest retailers in Europe, facilitating improvements in their bottom line and aiding in the management of sourcing decisions at the SKU level. This approach not only addresses economic concerns but also contributes to social and environmental sustainability.

Inofab Health

Pre Seed Round in 2017
InofabHealth® offers revolutionary respiratory care solutions for home and professional use with a human-centric approach and cutting-edge technology. It provides a software platform for functional respiratory care management, state of the art ultrasonic personal & clinic spirometers along with connected inhaler attachments with a strong focus on misuse detection. Inofab Health alerts any declines in lung health, allowing quick intervention against symptom onset and prevents unnecessary hospitalizations.

BuyBuddy

Seed Round in 2017
BuyBuddy is a technology company that develops smart retail tags designed to enhance the efficiency of inventory management and customer interactions for retailers. Its flagship product, Hitag, is a smart apparel security tag equipped with multiple sensors and machine-learning capabilities. This innovative solution allows customers to self-checkout using their mobile devices, eliminating the need to wait in line, while simultaneously providing retailers with real-time inventory data and detailed analytics on customer behavior and employee performance. By combining security with advanced inventory management, BuyBuddy enables retailers to better understand their operations and make informed merchandising decisions. The platform streamlines the shopping experience for customers and helps retailers focus on sales rather than daily operational tasks.

Evreka

Seed Round in 2017
Evreka Yazilim A.S. develops smart waste collection systems. It develops Evreka smart waste collection system, a wireless sensor that can measure the garbage bin fillness level and send this information to cloud using machine to machine technology. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Cankaya, Turkey.

Parasut

Series B in 2016
Financial management software for SMEs in Turkey

BiSU

Seed Round in 2016
BiSU is a mobile platform that enables its users to order drinkable water in Turkey. Through the platform, its users have the ability to order water from any brand available nationally. BiSU is completely free of commission or fees and aims to democratize access to bottled water in Turkey by increasing transparency in prices and quality of water. The platform allows its customers to compare prices and pay with their credit cards for delivered bottled water. BiSU was launched in 2015 by Ergin Uner & Ozan Alptekin. It is based in Istanbul.

Kolay

Angel Round in 2016
Kolay is a SaaS platform that combines employee engagement with core HR needs. We are helping HR professionals to streamline their day to day tasks with an easy to use and smart platform.

Adphorus

Seed Round in 2015
Adphorus is an ad management platform that specializes in empowering performance advertisers to create, manage, optimize, and analyze their Facebook advertising campaigns. Founded in 2015 and based in Istanbul, Turkey, the platform offers a suite of features designed to enhance advertising effectiveness, including dynamic product ads, automated ads, multi-product ads, and support for various ad formats such as video ads. It provides tools for easy campaign creation, advanced user permissions, and actionable dashboards, along with capabilities for predictive optimization, custom audiences, and custom reporting. Additionally, Adphorus supports UTM tagging and third-party tracking to help advertisers measure their campaign performance. As of November 2017, Adphorus operates as a subsidiary of Sojern Inc.

eTobb

Seed Round in 2014
eTobb operates an online medical Q&A platform that connects patients and doctors in the Arab world. Its platform enables its members to ask health questions and get answers from certified doctors in the region. The company’s medical expert network currently boasts doctors in various medical specialties that include allergy and immunology, cardiology, dermatology, family medicine, gastroenterology, OBGYN, oncology and hematology, pediatrics, surgery, and urology in France, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. eTobb was founded in 2012 and is based in Beirut, Lebanon.

Connected2Me

Seed Round in 2014
Connected2Me is a global messaging platform based in Turkey that has over 25 million registered users. The platform features a web chat application that connects registered profiles with anonymous site visitors, allowing users to communicate without revealing their identities. This unique anonymity feature sets Connected2Me apart from other messaging platforms, contributing to its viral growth in user acquisition. By prioritizing privacy and anonymity, Connected2Me offers a distinctive approach to online communication, appealing to users seeking a secure messaging experience.

Hornet

Angel Round in 2012
Founded in 2011, Hornet is the world’s premier gay social network. With over 25 million diverse users globally, the Hornet mission is to empower gay men to come out and join in the fun and fabulous of the gay community. The Hornet Feed curates content from acclaimed editors, thousands of community leaders, friends, and the guy next door, to spark meaningful connections. Powered by leading-edge technology, Hornet has become the number one gay app in markets such as France, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and Taiwan, and is rapidly expanding its sizable user base in the United States. More information at hornet.com Hornet - Connect To Your Community