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The Ankara AI Cup Artificial Intelligence Competition, organized by the Ankara Development Agency and hosted by the GarajX Technology Development Center, brought together students, recent graduates, and entrepreneurs working in the field of artificial intelligence on the same stage. Following a series of training and mentoring sessions throughout the program, participants presented the AI-powered solutions they developed to jury members, investors, public institutions, and industry representatives at Demo Day.
The Ankara AI Cup was organized across two tracks. The Hackathon Track, designed for teams at the idea stage, and the Acceleration Track, aimed at early-stage startups, provided participants with opportunities for training, mentoring, visibility, and collaboration.
Throughout the program, participants received training on problem validation, value proposition development, business model creation, pitching techniques, and investor readiness, while also having the opportunity to work one-on-one with expert mentors. Following Demo Day, B2B meetings enabled participating startups to connect with public institutions, private-sector representatives, and investors.
FirstAI – TRY 70,000
GuarDion – TRY 50,000
Trafix – TRY 30,000
Singularity – TRY 100,000
Solorota – TRY 60,000
Zero Risk AI – TRY 40,000
As part of the program, Singularity, Zero Risk AI, Solorota, Cognizen, Rotapp, Zephlen, Maestra, Baz Girişim, Vizenith, Tarzly.ai, Myora, and Lobus Protocol took the stage in the acceleration track and presented their AI-powered solutions to the jury.
At Demo Day, the startups presented their projects to a distinguished jury comprising representatives from the technology, investment, academia, and entrepreneurship ecosystem. The jury included Ertan Barut, President of the TOBB Turkish Software Council and Founder of Globalnet Software; Ece İdil Reşa, Fund Manager at the METU Venture Capital Fund; Dr. Ahmet Dinçer, Deputy Secretary General of the Ankara Chamber of Industry; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emre Akbaş, faculty member at the METU Department of Computer Engineering; and Zafer Küçükşabanoğlu, Founder and President of the Artificial Intelligence Policies Association (AIPA).
The jury evaluated the projects based on innovation, level of AI utilization, feasibility, scalability, business model, and potential impact, ultimately selecting the winning teams.
With a total prize pool of TRY 350,000, the Ankara AI Cup was designed as more than just a competition. It served as a comprehensive development program supporting teams and startups working on AI-driven ideas through training, mentoring, investor access, and collaboration opportunities. The program aims to unlock the potential of young talents and entrepreneurs in the field of artificial intelligence, support innovative solutions, and strengthen Ankara’s AI entrepreneurship ecosystem.
With its goal of introducing new ventures to Türkiye’s artificial intelligence ecosystem and encouraging young talent to pursue technology entrepreneurship, the Ankara AI Cup will continue to grow in the coming period.
