Back in 2020, when we laid the first bricks of Metis Ventures, our ambition was clear: build an investment strategy that taps into the unique strengths of emerging markets, without getting boxed in by currency risk or local exit constraints. We didn’t want to play defense; we wanted to go on the offensive, globally.

From day one, we’ve believed in the power of the hybrid founders: those building global companies while staying rooted in their local superpowers: agile teams, world-class engineers, resilient operators. It’s this blend that fuels outsized outcomes.

This is how we generate top-tier returns.

In the early days, the playbook looked like “test local → go global.” That made sense when markets moved slower. But fast forward to 2025, the tempo of product cycles and GTM execution is dizzying. Today, we see more founders starting out global from day one. And often, they are building far from where they started. We back them and we help level the field.

This is why we’re building Metis Ventures as a truly data-driven global platform -anchored by strong reach in the U.S. and U.K., and a local presence across Türkiye and Eastern Europe. To tackle the billion-dollar question of finding the right founder in the haystack, we’re reinventing our screening process through Metis X, our proprietary intelligence layer built to detect signal through noise at scale, long before the market catches on (check out our Data-Driven blog).

With Metis Emerge #4, each edition will spotlight one of the five AI-powered verticals we focus on: AI Agents / Digital Health / Cybersecurity / Fintech & Insurtech / Climate (Energy & Mobility).

This issue? Cybersecurity: Securing the AI Frontier

It’s clear now: cybersecurity is no longer a reactive layer, it’s a core design principle. From cloud infrastructure to AI systems, security is being built in from day one.

Just look at Wiz, which rejected a $23B offer from Google, only to be valued at $32B a month later. The market now sees security as a business enabler, not just risk mitigation.

This isn’t just for enterprises. SMEs are feeling the urgency too. Our portfolio company Timus is growing rapidly among US SMEs, reflecting demand for secure-by-design platforms at every level. At the same time, we’re seeing a growing focus on external attack surface visibility and digital risk protection, an area where our Brandefense is helping organizations anticipate and mitigate threats beyond traditional perimeters.

In an AI-native world where threats evolve rapidly and attack surfaces continue to grow, we back founders building resilient and adaptive systems with security embedded into the DNA of digital operations.

Cyber resilience is no longer about patching isolated vulnerabilities, it’s about designing for security from the start. Here are the areas we're especially focused on right now: 

• AI-native threat detection

• Identity and access management (IAM)

• Third-party & supply chain risk (TPRM)

• Automated security control assessments (ASCA)

Cybersecurity is now central to growth, resilience, and trust. And we’re here to help shape that future.

Take a look at Sabahat’s piece here: Read more👉  Rethinking Cybersecurity in the AI-Native Era

🐝 Investing in Wasp

Web development remains fragmented, with teams stitching together tools instead of focusing on what matters.

Wasp (YC W21) changes that, offering a single declarative file to ship full-stack apps fast. With 26K+ GitHub stars and adoption from startups to Fortune 500s, it's one of the fastest-growing open-source frameworks, helping developers cut complexity and build with clarity.

Mircea shared more details in his latest blog.

🔔 News from Metis Portfolio

• Pubinno, active in 7 countries across 3 continents, grew revenue 58% YoY and made the FoodTech 500 list for the fourth time.

• Evreka partnered with Coca-Cola to digitalize PET waste collection in Central , Asia laying the groundwork for expansion across 25 countries.

• Ollang surpassed $100M in partner revenue and now powers EAA-compliant SDH for 87M+ viewers. Its multi-agent AI delivers 99% accurate captions with up to 83% cost reduction.

• Alotech is reaching $15M in ARR by enhancing service quality and streamlining operations through deep insights from its AI-powered CX platform.

• Wask achieved 64% YoY ARR growth by automating campaign optimization and delivering actionable insights through its AI-powered ad platform.

• Flowla launched 2.0 with AI agents and human-in-the-loop automation for revenue teams, driving 2.8× revenue growth since the beginning of the year.If you’d like to learn more about our portfolio, please reach out to Eylül. 

👋🏼Where to Meet Us

 We’ll be attending the following events, be sure to stop by and say hello:

• 🇸🇮 PODIM 2025 | 12–14 May | Maribor

• 🇹🇷 egirişim Summit | 14 May | İstanbul

• 🇹🇷 Doping Invest Camp | 15 May | Ankara

• 🇪🇪 Latitude59 | 21–23 May | Tallinn

• 🇹🇷 Hello Tomorrow Türkiye Summit | 22–23 May | İstanbul

💌 Best of Metis Emerge

Metis Emerge is our blog where our team share interesting insights and updates.

Ege shares how we approach startup evaluation and how we built a practical scoring system to cut through noise and spot high-potential deals.

🤝 Search For Talent

📝 We're always on the lookout for smart, passionate individuals to join our team.Please fill out our talent form, and let’s get started!

Metis Ventures is an early-stage venture firm backing bold founders from Türkiye and Eastern Europe with €1–3M initial checks, fueling their ambition to build global businesses and local champions. We’ve backed 60+ startups to date and invest with deep conviction across five core verticals: AI Agents, Digital Health, Cybersecurity, Fintech & Insurtech, and Climate (Energy & Mobility).