UPDATE WITH REMARKS FROM TECHNOLOGY MINISTER
By Aysu Bicer
ANKARA (AA) - Turkish start-up Getir offering ultrafast deliveries has become the country's second unicorn fetching a valuation of $2.6 billion, its founder said on Friday.
The company secured $300 million new investment for international expansion, Nazim Salur said at a virtual news conference.
Silicon Valley's Sequoia Capital and New York-based Tiger led the latest investment round, he stated, adding that the company would hold another round by the end of the year.
"The company would start operations in Germany, France and the Netherlands in a few of months," Salur announced.
He also underlined that the company hoped to popularize the two-syllable Turkish word Getir -- meaning bring -- in Brazil as the novel coronavirus pandemic subsides.
Salur also announced plans to distribute based on seniority 25 million Turkish liras (nearly $3 million) to Getir's courier and warehouse staff, "who are the field employees of our dealers who have made the most important contribution to Getir becoming a unicorn."
Commenting on Getir's success, Turkey's Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said: "We're progressing step by step towards the goal of 10 Turkish unicorns by 2023."
The Istanbul-based company was founded in 2015, allowing users to order a large variety of items at a moment's notice, with only a small mark-up on supermarket prices. It promises an average delivery time of 10 minutes.
In January, the company got a further $128 million in funding from the world's leading investors thanks to the company's bold approach to the delivery business and aggressive growth.
The financing, led by existing shareholders Michael Moritz's Crankstart Investments from Silicon Valley and Brazilian Base Partners, included Tiger Global and Goodwater Capital from Silicon Valley as well as Turkish conglomerates Fiba and Esas, and Revo Capital.
A unicorn is a term employed in the venture capital industry to define a privately held startup company with a value over $1 billion.
Peak Games, which was sold for $1.8 billion to a US-based entertainment giant Zynga in 2020, was the first Turkish unicorn.
This acquisition was a milestone for the country's start-up ecosystem.