Turkish AI companies that compete in the global tech market or plan to expand into Europe must work within two frameworks at once. One is the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2021-2025), which sets Türkiye's targets for R&D and ecosystem growth; the other is the European Union AI Act (EU AI Act), which is setting the global standard for AI compliance.
National AI Strategy (2021-2025)
The foundational strategy document outlining Türkiye's vision for "development and capacity building" in the field of AI.
- Focus: Enhancing R&D, innovation, data sharing infrastructure, and qualified employment.
- Approach: Incentive-based and focused on building the ecosystem.
- Core Value: Putting "Trustworthy AI" at the center of national policy.
European Union AI Act
A strict regulation that sets the legal and ethical boundaries of AI systems and, through the "Brussels Effect", shapes rules well beyond the EU.
- Focus: Protecting fundamental human rights, consumer safety, and data privacy.
- Approach: Risk-based (Unacceptable, High, Limited, Minimal Risk) and prescriptive.
- Core Value: Enforcement through mandatory conformity assessments and heavy administrative fines.
Legal Architecture for Cross-Border Growth
The feature of the EU AI Act that matters most here is its extraterritorial reach. Whether your code is written in Istanbul or Ankara, if the AI model or product you develop reaches a customer in the EU, you are fully subject to the Act's transparency obligations and heavy penalties.
Development processes should therefore be designed not only to make the most of local incentives but also to build the "defensible legal architecture" that international investors look for in due diligence.
Original documents
Read the primary sources referenced in this article:
↓ EU AI Act — Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (EUR-Lex) ↓ Türkiye National AI Strategy 2021–2025 — PDF
