Hande Çilingir
The story
Hande Çilingir studied at the London School of Economics and Shanghai Normal University. Her first venture was an English-language school in Fethiye, Turkey, later acquired by another local education business. In 2012 she co-founded Insider with five partners: Serhat Soyuerel, Muharrem Derinkök, Mehmet Sinan Toktay, Okan Yedibela and Arda Köterin. Insider uses customer data and AI to predict what each shopper is likely to want and personalise what they see across channels. Early on the founders focused on Europe and Asia rather than the US, and found Asia especially attractive because competition there was thinner. Clients came to include Singapore Airlines and Samsung. In March 2022 a $121 million Series D led by Qatar Investment Authority valued Insider at $1.22 billion, making it the first woman-founded unicorn in Turkey. General Atlantic led a $500 million Series E in 2024. The company became Insider One in December 2025 and bought US firm Bluecore in May 2026 ahead of a planned IPO.
By the numbers
Appearances
On Founding MENA
