Boğaziçi Ventures to take part in COP31 with GreenWise
“We believe Türkiye’s role as host offers a strong opportunity for clean technologies developed in our country to scale internationally,” said Boğaziçi Ventures CEO Barış Özistek.
Boğaziçi Ventures will take part in the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) with GreenWise, its investment fund focused on clean technologies.
Boğaziçi Ventures will join COP31 with GreenWise under the message “Where Intelligence Meets Climate”. The conference is an international platform for its work on scaling AI-enabled clean technologies.
At COP31 in Antalya, the company will lead the GreenWise AI-Enabled Cleantech Initiative, part of the COP31 Presidency’s Action Agenda. The initiative brings together startups developing climate technologies, the organisations that will use these solutions, and investors. Its aim is to scale solutions that deliver measurable emission reductions.
The Climate Change Directorate of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change and the Ministry of Industry and Technology support the initiative’s strategic direction and its alignment with national policy. Boğaziçi Ventures executives the initiative and is responsible for its coordination internationally.
The initiative brings together companies, investors, technology startups, public institutions and universities. It focuses on:
developing pioneering pilot projects
corporate adoption of AI-enabled clean technologies
mobilising the investment needed for these solutions to grow
responsible AI use
knowledge sharing
The initiative responds to the fragmented nature of the climate innovation ecosystem. Promising technologies, the organisations that could use them and investors often fail to come together. This limits how many solutions move from demonstration to widespread use.
Built on three mutually reinforcing pillars, the initiative aims to turn AI-enabled climate innovation into practical applications and scalable solutions in priority sectors.
The AI-Enabled Cleantech Initiative will be officially launched at COP31 at an event on Science, Industry and Technology Day, 16 November. The event will also show the commitment of public institutions, companies, investors and technology startups to work together towards this goal in the years ahead.
GreenWise focuses on startups in water, carbon management, energy efficiency, renewable energy and the circular economy. The fund assesses financial returns together with environmental and social impact. It supports the growth of its portfolio companies through technical review, scientific validation and international business networks.
“The problem in climate innovation is often not a lack of ideas”
Boğaziçi Ventures CEO Barış Özistek said that the problem in climate innovation is often not a lack of ideas. Rather, promising technologies too rarely reach the companies and investors who would use them.
Özistek said they aim to accelerate this transformation by bringing together technical expertise, capital and industry connections through the AI-Enabled Cleantech Initiative and GreenWise. “We believe Türkiye’s role as host offers a strong opportunity for clean technologies developed in our country to scale internationally,” he said.
GreenWise Managing Partner Ayşen Toksöz Ünalan said they aim to accelerate the spread of successful applications by testing AI-enabled solutions under real business conditions. “Concrete results from pilots are critical for companies to adopt these solutions and for investment to follow,” she said.
GreenWise Managing Partner Betül Yücel Parlak said they aim to help startups develop scalable solutions in priority sectors through investment and international partnerships. “Hosting COP31 in Türkiye is an important opportunity to bring innovative solutions developed in our country to international markets and to strengthen Türkiye as a regional hub in this field,” she said.