Russian tech firm Yandex to invest $400M in Türkiye

By Mehmet Selcuk Guclu

ISTANBUL (AA) – Russian multinational tech firm Yandex plans to invest $400 million in Türkiye to localize its information technology products, expand its reach in the country, construct more infrastructure, and accelerate development in the field.

Türkiye is among the top 10 countries with the highest internet usage, Yandex Search Türkiye CEO Alexander Popovskiy told Anadolu, and with the firm’s investments, he said the personal data stored by the search engine will stay within Türkiye.

Popovskiy highlighted that Yandex’s focus on the Turkish market is to provide more benefits in accordance with the needs of their users in the region, and as he notes that their products will be designed and developed with that consideration.

He announced that a new search engine powered by artificial intelligence (AI) will be specifically developed for the Turkish market to enhance the efficiency in searches in the next few months.

Popovskiy said Yandex is working on joint projects with Turkish tech firms and startups, with the platform’s digital advertising products contributing to the growth of some local businesses, in addition to the other services Yandex offers, such as its own Cloud, Weather, and Maps apps, with some 40 Turkish startups already using the services for free.

He added that the efforts to develop these services will continue as Turkish businesses benefit from these B2B (business-to-business) solutions.

Popovskiy mentioned that the $400 million investment in Türkiye will support the development of digital advertising, machine learning, high-capacity systems, and AI – directly contributing to Türkiye’s digital economy with solutions specifically tailored to the region.

When it comes to AI, Popovskiy said that Yandex develops “hyperlocal” products, in that their technologies incorporate the language and the cultural dynamics within to better serve the country and its peoples according to their needs and specifics.

He noted that the long-term plan with the investment is to remain a business partner to Türkiye and continue to offer more advanced tech solutions and develop the already existing ones Yandex offers in the region.

*Writing by Emir Yildirim