Octopus raises $750K investment led by APY Ventures

Octopus has raised a $750K investment in a round led by APY Ventures.

Other investors participating in the round include Aktif Ventures Mindvest Fund, Finberg, and TechOne VC.

ISTANBUL (AA) - Octopus, which differentiates itself from competitors by analyzing viewers through its AI module developed for the retail sector and then displaying personalized content with AI support, has raised $750K in investment led by APY Ventures.

According to a statement from Albaraka, Octopus completed its first investment round in March last year, shortly after which it opened its London office and added global team members. Operating in the Digital Signage market—traditionally focused on selling industrial screens—Octopus focuses not on selling screens, but on ensuring these screens are used in the most efficient and measurable way.

Other investors participating in the investment round led by APY Ventures include Aktif Ventures Mindvest Fund, Finberg, and TechOne VC.

“We want to rapidly grow both as a team and as a product and increase our global customer base”

Octopus Founder Emre Yıldız stated:

“After the first investment round, our motivation was to position the product in the global market. With the Kiğılı Group, which invested in the first round, we believe we were able to achieve product-market fit very quickly. We are able to express ourselves comfortably in global programs and fairs we participate in, and we receive positive feedback. As a Turkish entrepreneur, this makes us very happy. After the investment, we want to grow rapidly both as a team and as a product and increase our global customer base. With our work in AI, ADS, and NFT, we differentiate ourselves from all competitors and act with greater confidence.”

“We are very happy to lead the investment round with Bilişim Vadisi VC Fund”

Emin Özer, General Manager of Albaraka Portföy, stated:

“As APY Ventures, we closely follow startups that produce innovative solutions and place technology at their core. The need for personalized solutions in the traditionally defined advertising sector, along with technological developments, excites us greatly. We are very pleased to lead Octopus’s investment round with the Bilişim Vadisi VC Fund and to contribute to its journey toward global expansion with the various technological solutions it offers that make a difference in the market.”

“Octopus also makes a difference in its sector with AI usage, ad network management, and NFT solutions”

Yakup Sezer, CEO of Aktif Ventures, said:

“Octopus enables brands to present their products and services in the most efficient way through screens with its software solutions, while also making a difference in its sector with AI usage, ad network management, and NFT solutions. We believe that Octopus, which aims to grow internationally, will accelerate its growth with this investment round, and we are very happy to support this success story with our Mindvest Fund.”

“Octopus is an original startup with a visionary team”

Yiğit Arslan, Managing Partner at TechOne VC, stated:

“As TechOne, we were selected as the most active venture capital fund of the year after investing in 15 startups in 2021. One of the important steps we took in line with our goal of being among the most active funds in 2022 was our investment in Octopus. Octopus is an original startup with a visionary team. It makes a significant contribution to the digital transformation of conventional advertising channels by using image recognition and big data technologies. We will continue to provide all the support we can to ensure its success grows exponentially.”

“Octopus is one of the investments we believe will have an important place in the sector”

İhsan Elgin, Board Member of Finberg, stated:

“We are very happy to have made our 28th investment. Especially in the last two years, in our non-fintech investments, we have always aimed to invest in startups with disruptive business models and the potential to become regional players. Octopus is one of the investments we believe will have an important place in the sector with its innovative business model for more efficient management of the advertising industry.

As Finberg, we have built an ecosystem that can provide different business partnerships to our startups and connect them with more customers. We will ensure that Octopus, which has joined this ecosystem created together with Fibabanka, other Fiba Group companies, and other startups in Finberg’s portfolio, benefits from our ecosystem at the highest level.”

According to the statement, Octopus recently announced a collaboration with Cognitiwe, a local startup in the field of image processing, and is preparing to launch its product developed under the motto “More than Digital Signage.” By analyzing who looks at which content on screens and for how many seconds, and instantly displaying personalized content, while also establishing a relationship between viewing frequency and purchasing behavior to provide brands with purchase index reporting, Octopus stands out as a rare example globally in this category.

With innovative approaches such as enabling payments via screens or using these screens as local advertising networks, Octopus has also gained attention with its work in the NFT space.

At the recent Istanbul NFT Summit, Octopus announced its collaboration with Kalao and presented the Fırat Neziroğlu NFT Collection as its first case on the main stage. By minting screens as NFTs to allow purchased NFT artworks to be displayed in homes, offices, or galleries, Octopus stands out among blockchain-based projects in this field.