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Teleporter, the innovative force behind one of the world’s inaugural VR gamer metaverses and a beacon of Turkish game development, has secured funding with a valuation of $20M, led by Arya Ventures.

Silicon Valley-based startup Teleporter VR, a pioneer in creating immersive VR metaverses for gamers, has announced a significant funding boost with a valuation of $20 million led by Arya GSYF. This investment further establishes Turkey’s rising influence in the global gaming industry, reinforcing its commitment to forward-thinking, immersive technologies.

Teleporter VR, co-founded by Dilara Keçeci and Aslan Yerdelen in 2015, has been instrumental in shaping the digital landscape for global gaming communities. Their platform acts as a multifaceted hub for gamers to play a wide variety of games and engage with fellow gamers, participate in digital versions of real-life gaming conferences, and immerse themselves in many different gamer worlds. By delivering an integrated gaming universe, distribution platform, and digital marketing ecosystem in World of Gamers, Teleporter VR aspires to centralize all gaming-related needs into a single, virtual universe, a concept they term the “gamer metaverse.”

In a bid to continually innovate and diversify its games portfolio, Teleporter VR is set to make waves in the “Life-Size VR Board Game” sector. After much anticipation and excitement, they are on the cusp of launching a Wizards Chess-inspired game called Merlin’s Chess. Drawing inspiration from popular franchises such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone, Merlin’s Chess promises a magical journey for gamers within the World of Gamers universe. With a rich storyline and a fresh approach to game development, Merlin’s Chess is poised to transcend its immersive chess game roots and carve out a distinct niche in the heart of geek culture.

The latest investment round led by Arya GSYF, a venture fund established in 2023 in partnership with Arya Women Investment Platform and Türkiye İş Bankası, is part of a strategic move to expand the World of Gamers universe. This expansion includes integrating global player communities and introducing new game worlds like Merlin’s Chess. Committed to fostering gender equality, the investment will also support Teleporter VR’s mission to maintain a minimum of 50% female employee representation, further enhancing its symbolic value in the industry.

Previously, Teleporter VR successfully secured significant funding in a round led by Collective Spark, which included contributions from veteran investors like Melis Kızıldağ, Yeşim İlbak, Murat Soğancıoğlu, and Nilüfer Günhan. The startup has also gained international attention, with high-profile investors like Bora Koçyiğit from Riot Games, Mehmet İçağasıoğlu, senior manager at Walt Disney Company, Ali Karabey, executive director at 212, and many others joining the other investment tours.

Boost VC, a notable fund under the Draper family that previously invested in global success stories such as Tesla, Skype, and Hotmail, contributed to pre-seed funding during Teleporter’s earlier stages. 

Teleporter VR’s CEO Dilara Keçeci, whose startup has been featured by esteemed media organizations such as Wired UK and America’s SXSW, predicts that the forthcoming Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 devices will substantially accelerate growth rates within metaverse and XR markets. Keçeci believes that as these technologies gain widespread adoption, both social universes and VR games will experience substantial growth. The new investment is poised to bolster Teleporter’s global visibility, be used in developing their games, and attract world-class talent to their team.

With a distinguished track record of forging alliances with global brands and demonstrating unmatched expertise in its domain, Teleporter VR is a heralded trailblazer in the gaming sphere. Recently, in Deloitte’s ground-breaking report titled “Potential Value of Metaverse for Turkey,” which scrutinizes the economic, social, and environmental ramifications of the Metaverse ecosystem on Turkey, Teleporter VR was highlighted as a luminary in the gaming sector and an emblematic harbinger of what is to come.

In parallel, Arya GSYF, a vanguard in adopting a gender balance-focused investment strategy in Turkey, is committed to empowering technology-centric ventures that exhibit scalability, foreseeable exit prospects, and boast at least one female founder. Despite being a nascent venture, Arya GSYF demonstrated its resolve by consummating its maiden investment in Teleporter VR soon after securing an initial closing of $10 million in March 2023. Arya GSYF’s enterprising spirit is not to be understated, as it ambitiously sets its sights on augmenting its investment portfolio to encompass four ventures within a mere two-month window.

This synergy between Teleporter VR and Arya GSYF, underpinned by a shared vision of technological innovation and gender equity, is set to catalyze an era of unprecedented advancements in the immersive gaming metaverse and beyond. Teleporter VR’s unwavering commitment to excellence, coupled with Arya GSYF’s pioneering approach to investment, heralds an exhilarating chapter in the convergence of gaming, technology, and social impact.