Before we say goodbye to 2021, we wanted to reflect on 2021 and the happenings in the startup world. From the investors who place trust in us to the portfolio companies that continue to defy expectations, we continue to be amazed. Thank you.
Here is a summary of 2021 in numbers:
Our portfolio companies continued to grow and are looking ahead to more funding in 2022.
123 Form Builder
This past year 123 Form Builder released a new pricing structure and shifted towards new positioning on the company website. The Company expanded the Enterprise portfolio with unique logos such as Mercury Marine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and many more. They also grew the team by 20%. 2021 was an experimental year for 123 Form Builder. They have just begun working on a new secret project they plan to release in 2022. So, stay tuned!
App Samurai
2021 was a historic year for App Samurai. The Company completed a critical phase in the vertical integration strategy with the global launch of the Storyly product that enabled them to create a direct touchpoint with the end-users. App Samurai now help app developers acquire new users and engage, retain, and monetize them.
Thanks to positive customer reviews, numerous accolades were awarded to App Samurai due to the rapid growth of their user acquisition and SDK user base. First of all, the Financial Times ranked AppSamurai 24th in America’s Fastest-Growing Companies List. Second, Forbes identified App Samurai’s fraud prevention tool Interceptd as America’s Best Startup Employer. Co-Founder and CEO Emre Fadıllıoğlu won the App Marketer of the Year Award at the App Growth Awards of App Promotion Summit. In addition, BEST STARTUP chose App Samurai as one of the 101 Top San Francisco Mobile Apps Companies and Startups. Last but not least, App Samurai’s brand-new user engagement tool Storyly was awarded the MarTech Marketing Technology Awards in three categories. 2022 will be a year of global expansion into new countries and verticals by welcoming around 100 new Samurais to build the next generation of user-oriented mobile growth and engagement technologies.
Avatao
While the world grappled with COVID-19 in 2021, Avatao joined the 212 Family. At this time of remote work and a transformation to enterprise cloud services, Avatao delivers critical knowledge to developers to build secure software fast. During this past year, Avatao managed to extend its operation to the US and expand its service with key customers in Europe. In 2022, Avatao will integrate with critical enterprise business services and provide best practices for engineering teams on actionable software security.
Chooch AI
In 2021, Chooch AI grew by 100 partners, 30 customers, 50 employees, and the Chooch AI computer vision platform processed billions of images and videos. From defect detection AI for multinational manufacturers to customer analysis for global retailers, the Chooch AI models prove to add business value. Want to know more? Have a look at the AI ROI White Paper. What does 2022 hold for Chooch AI? Stay tuned for customer announcements, product announcements, partner announcements.
Fazla Gıda
Despite COVID enormously affecting the food sector and supply chain, Fazla Gida experienced two extraordinary years. The Company was founded in 2017 and faced a year full of unpredictability in 2020. Even still, Fazla Gida’s business grew, and its team doubled and increased profitability. At the same time, it was a year of innovation with many new R&D products developed in-house.
Fazla Gida kept its 3x growth promise despite challenges in 2021, providing even faster delivery and closing the Series A round with €2.5M for Turkey operations. Not only did they recover food, but also surpluses in textiles, electronics, and packaging. Step by step, Fazla Gida is quickly becoming a technology-enabled holistic waste management company.
For 2022, there is more to come! Fazla Gida envisions surpassing the growth of previous years with expansion to Europe and a promise of four times the growth. Whatever the circumstances are, Fazla Gida is confident to deliver on what they promise.
HotelRunner
As the entire world tackled the repercussions of COVID and new variants, HotelRunner has stood its ground and kept pushing forward. In 2021, revenues and bookings made through the platform surpassed the pre-pandemic levels of 2019. HotelRunner continued to improve its technology in line with the needs and expectations of its partners and introduced the sales-first, unified Property Management System at no additional cost to businesses.
HotelRunner was selected as Best Overall Performing Provider by Booking.com by exceeding every performance benchmark set by Booking.com in 2020. HotelRunner further extended its strategic partnership with Hotelbeds and was recognized as Elite Connectivity Partner by Expedia Group for maintaining high-quality software connections and many other global and local partnerships.
HotelRunner has been the leading sales management and B2B network in MEA, and in the past year, the Company took firm steps towards being number one in the world. The Company also graduated from Plug and Play Tech Center’s Travel & Hospitality Accelerator Program Batch 11 and started hiring in the UK. The team grew 65% year on year. Even more exciting news is around the corner!
Martı
2021 was an important year for Marti, as the Company scaled to a multi-modal mobility fleet, including mopeds, e-bikes, and scooters. The Company now serves 20 cities across Turkey and, despite its single-country focus, is one of the five largest micro-mobility operators globally. Marti will build on this position in 2022 by introducing new transport modes and further scaling its existing modalities.
Mall IQ
Mall IQ is another 212 portfolio company that accomplished a lot in 2021. The Company has signed a strategic partnership deal with KPMG to make Mall IQ products accessible to the Banking & Fintech industries. Mall IQ has expanded to Singapore and signed its first deal with HSBC. The Company also signed partnerships with The Entertainer Group, a Dubai-based Offer & Loyalty platform serving banks in addition to its own B2C App. Other alliances include Veripark (CRM, App developer) and Intertech (BaaS) providers. It completed the Global Launch program of 500 Startups (with a new name of 500 Global) in Singapore and also started to work with Starbucks and Carrefour. Mall IQ plans to expand geographically in 2022 with more strategic partnerships serving Banks & Fintechs globally.
SmartMessage
SmartMessage expanded its global reach to Kazakhstan and Indonesia by onboarding BORUSAN CAT as a new client in Central Asia and Ciputra Life in Southeast Asia. Online events targeting different world regions, including the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America, continued without any break. This strengthened brand awareness on the global scene. SmartMessage won the Excellence in Customer Experience Enhancement award in the Finnovex Awards Europe 2021. In addition, SmartMessage was awarded the “Excellence in Omnichannel Marketing” in Digital Banking Saudi 2030 Summit & Awards.
Solvoyo
Rapid Grocery Delivery (RGD) companies are redefining how customers are served and are raising billions of $$ at a dizzying speed. These businesses need digital, intelligent, and autonomous supply chain planning, fulfillment, and transportation platforms working in an integrated fashion to meet fast delivery promises of 15 minutes. Solvoyo shone through 2021, winning clients who operate locally and globally. 2021 was the year of Q-commerce, Q as in Quick Rapid Retail. Solvoyo is defining a new category in decision automation for supply chains that require agility, scalability, and flexibility!
Trio Mobil
Trio Mobil is working very hard to become the Industrial Operations Cloud for the world’s largest manufacturing companies. 2021 was a year of growth, hiring, and deal closing for Trio Mobil. They acquired a presence in Germany, the UK, Italy, Romania, Australia, India, Poland, and many more countries, making industrial operations safer and more efficient. In 2021, Trio Mobil hired 50+ people, and by the end of 2021, they had a team of 170 talented and passionate people. Their plan for expansion into the US is on track.