Diffusion Capital Partners Research
Investment Thesis
Diffusion Capital Partners (DCP) is Turkey's leading deep-tech venture capital fund manager, founded in 2015 (with team operations dating to 2007) and based in Istanbul. DCP believes the disruptive nature of science- and technology-driven innovation, not mere business-model innovation, is the engine of sustainable economic growth. The firm looks for innovation at the junction of industry sectors, favoring cross-industry and interdisciplinary projects where capital-efficient solutions can unlock significant value at the nexus of technology domains. DCP explicitly does not invest in pure business-model innovation absent a strong technical or IP core.
Stage Focus
DCP primarily makes Seed and Series A investments. Its affiliated Diffusion Capital Fund (DCF) also makes pre-seed and seed investments as an EU- and academic-institution-co-financed technology transfer vehicle, while DCP-II (its main deep-tech VC fund) reaches toward technology-intensive start-ups with global potential at Seed/Series A.
Check Size
Initial investments are typically below EUR500K, followed by larger checks of up to EUR1-2M contingent on the company hitting technical and business milestones.
Lead Tendency
DCP states a preference to lead investment rounds, but frequently syndicates with other funds and angels. Recent disclosed rounds (Doktar, BigOmics Analytics, Etched) show DCP participating alongside or led by other investors, so real-world behavior is closer to "both" than a strict always-lead policy.
Recent Activity
DCP has been active through 2025 and into 2026:
- June 2025: Participated as an existing shareholder in Doktar's EUR7.5M Series B, co-led by ECBF and Pymwymic, to scale the ag-tech company's climate-sustainability platform globally.
- October 2025: Joined as a new investor in BigOmics Analytics' USD1.6M funding tranche (with SICTIC-network angels) to advance the Swiss omics-data-analysis precision-medicine platform.
- July 2026: Named among the investor group (alongside Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Jane Street Capital, Argo, and SK Hynix) in Etched's USD300M Series C at a USD10.3B valuation, backing the AI inference chip maker.
Portfolio Highlights
DCP organizes its public portfolio into six sectors: Life Sciences, ICT, Industrial Products, AG-Tech/Materials & Chemicals, Consumer Products, and Energy & Environment. Notable current and past holdings include Cellsway (deep-tech liquid biopsy/CTC platform), Virasoft (AI-powered digital pathology), BigOmics Analytics (omics data analysis SaaS), Doktar (AI/IoT precision agriculture), V-Count (AI retail/visitor analytics), Tazi AI (explainable adaptive ML platform for financial services), Nubigon (3D point-cloud visualization software), and Etched (AI inference chips). Disclosed exits include Cybelle, BMT BAPS, 3E FU, and TekKredi.com.
Team
- Alper Karagöz, CFA — Partner
- Altan Küçükçınar — Partner
- Fırat Özpınar — Partner
- Haluk Zontul — Partner
- Ozden Merve Akgün — Partner (represents DCP in Invest Europe's Leader Interviews series)
- Vedia Yavuz — Analyst
- Damla Küçük — Office Manager
With over 70 years of cumulative team experience in high-tech sectors, DCP positions itself as more than a check-writer: it works hands-on with portfolio companies on business development, legal, financial, and operational execution against milestones.
Decision Process
Meetings begin with an initial pitch/business-plan call, followed by a comprehensive screening process. After a positive assessment from the investment committee, a term sheet is signed, followed by legal and financial due diligence and a shareholders' agreement (SHA) to close.
Founder Preferences
DCP looks for entrepreneurial teams with a global vision who are focused, inquisitive, pragmatic, and committed to executing the business plan. It requires a strong, IP-protected (patent, copyright, or trade-secret) technology component underpinning competitive advantage, plus a realistic go-to-market plan that leverages that technical edge within a short time frame.
Geographic Focus
DCP is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, and has historically anchored the Turkish deep-tech ecosystem (it is EU/TÜBITAK-linked through DCF). Its co-investment footprint has expanded internationally, including Switzerland (BigOmics) and the United States (Etched), typically as a syndicate participant rather than lead in those non-Turkey deals.
Sector Focus
DCP describes itself as a generalist deep-tech investor with emphasis on biotech, green-tech, agri-tech, life sciences, materials & nanotechnology, IT, robotics, and mechatronics, while welcoming other technical areas. It explicitly avoids pure business-model innovation without a technology/IP core.