National Artificial Intelligence Strategy

Turkey's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (NAIS) 2021-2025, aligned with the 'Digital Türkiye' and 'National Technology Initiative' objectives, has established a framework for AI development that emphasizes human-oriented AI reflecting Turkey's 'civilization experience.' The strategy has driven investment in AI research infrastructure, workforce development, and regulatory frameworks. Turkey was ranked just behind Switzerland in one global AI readiness index, recognized for its fast-growing AI innovation ecosystem and high-budget public contracts.

The Turkish AI ecosystem is emerging but faces structural challenges including insufficient venture capital compared to global leaders, brain drain to Silicon Valley and Europe, and limited access to advanced AI compute infrastructure. However, Turkey's large engineering workforce (400,000+ engineering graduates annually), competitive labor costs, and growing defense AI applications create a foundation for specialized AI capability development.

The MEXT innovation center, a partnership between MESS (Turkish metalworking employers' association) and McKinsey, has reached over 650 companies with digital and AI transformation programs. Turkey's AI strength is more in applied AI — autonomous systems for defense, industrial automation, and smart city applications — than in foundational model development, reflecting a pragmatic approach to the technology.