212 Updates #168 | Dec 15th
Board Meetings | New Round for Bolt Insight | SpaceX
I caught a Friday night flight back as soon as I wrapped up two board meetings in New York. It’s genuinely good to be back. I love the city, but I can’t say I missed the freezing weather or the holiday-season crowds. Still, New York has an energy that stays with you long after you leave.
Board meetings require far more work than most people realize, and much of that effort happens long before anyone enters the room. Preparing the presentation often means long hours, close coordination, and a level of detail that can feel endless. When all of that groundwork is done well, the meeting runs with a kind of ease that looks effortless from the outside. That is why I want to recognize the people who make it happen, the team behind the scenes who gather the data, build the decks, and keep everything moving. Your hard work matters, and it genuinely shows.
Last week, I read about SpaceX’s IPO plans for 2026, targeting a raise more than $25 billion, which could push its valuation past $1 trillion. Along with mixed thoughts on that scale, it reminded me of another milestone IPO, NTT Docomo’s in 1998, which I had the opportunity to work on during my time at Goldman Sachs in Japan. Back then, it was the largest IPO in Japan’s history (until SoftBank’s in 2018), and, according to Reuters, it’s still the 4th largest IPO globally. Setting up the infrastructure for that deal was a phenomenal experience.
Back to the present. Bolt Insight, our investments from Regional Fund II, just completed a £7 million funding round. Since our initial investment in 2022, the team has built a global AI-native insights platform, and we were proud to reinvest alongside the round. The raise was led by Pembroke, with participation from Active Partners, Velocity Capital, and TIBAS Ventures.
This round came together through continued collaboration between the founders and the 212 team, from structuring the round to navigating conversations with new investors. Work like this may be less visible, but it’s what builds long-term value. Thanks to everyone at 212 who contributed; your behind-the-scenes effort made a real difference. We’re proud to continue backing founders like the Bolt Insight team as they scale.
Bolt Insight is rethinking market research for the AI era. Their platform enables brands to speak directly with consumers around the world and transform qualitative research into decision-ready insights, in minutes, not weeks. Here is LinkedIn post.
Finally, our December newsletter is out:
“Side Effects May Include: Better Pharma Marketing”
Last Week
Investment teams interacted with 149 companies.
I was in New York for meetings
Selma and Zeynep attended Plug and Play Turkiye Expo.
Gizem was at Sustainability Talks Bosphorus.
Can attended UzVC Demo Day and the Central Asia Venture Conference.
Gizem and Caglar attended TTGV React 2025.
Gizem, Caglar, Zeynep were at Take Off event in Istanbul.
This Week and Next
I will attend METU Stars session on Tuesday, December 16th.
Ali will be panelist at We Made It Growth on Wednesday, December 17th.
Zeynep, Can, and Emin will attend Garanti BBVA Global Expansion Day 2025 on Thursday, December 18th.
Ozge will be jury at the Mastercard Lighthouse Türkiye x EBRD Star Venture event on Thursday, December 18th.
Ali will attend 2025 YGA Summit on Saturday, December 20th.
Some News
Disney to Invest $1 Billion in OpenAI and License Characters for Use in ChatGPT, Sora. Read here…
Oracle Burned $10 Billion as AI Investments Rise. Read more…