Turkish firms explore investment opportunities at US summit

Turkish businesspeople met with representatives from US states during the SelectUSA Investment Summit this week to explore investment opportunities across sectors ranging from renewable energy and robotics to health care technology and dental services.

The summit, held May 3-6 in Maryland near Washington, DC, brought together thousands of participants, including investors, economic development officials and industry experts from over 100 countries.

More than 30 Turkish companies attended the event.

Tarik Sarvan, chairman of leading Turkish solar technology company CW Enerji, said the firm exports around $5-$6 million worth of products monthly from Türkiye to the US and is considering investment opportunities on a state-by-state basis.

"We are trying to create a gateway where we can sell our products," he said, stressing that production would remain in Türkiye while potential US operations would focus on assembly and sales.

Bakit Baydaliev, CEO of technology firm DOF Robotics, said the US already accounts for 40% of the company's market and that the share is growing steadily. The company plans to expand its immersive entertainment businesses across multiple US states, including in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

RealWorks Product and Marketing Director Fulya Bayram said the company aims to expand the US footprint of its AI-powered health care platform HaloScape and strengthen ties with state officials and major firms such as Nvidia.

"Our goal this year is to slightly increase our market share in the US, strengthen Türkiye's representation here, and build close relationships with the states," she said.

Other Turkish firms attending the summit included dental technology startup dentalPrices and software company IWRobotx, both of which said they view the US market as key to global expansion.

Dr. Efe Celebi, founder of the dental clinic chain Dentgroup, said his company dentalPrices has expanded into Europe with operations in Budapest and is now planning to enter the US market by the end of the year.

Juliet Abdel, president of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, said the company offers foreign investors lower business costs, affordable living and strong transportation access as a midwestern hub, with growth potential in aerospace and avionics, the bioeconomy and technology.

"The industries which really overlap with our interests were energy, defense and manufacturing…I'll continue following up on the opportunities that came up in our one-on-one meetings," she said about her meetings with investors.

Chris Chung, CEO of The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, described Turkish companies as "globally minded."

"Türkiye is a big market in and of itself, but there's a lot of opportunities sitting outside of Türkiye, including to both sell and produce products in the United States, and that's where the intersection of opportunity sits for us," he said.