A new social media platform launched by a Turkish defense contractor and a government-backed foundation has quickly become one of the most downloaded apps in the country, offering users an ad-free interface and a built-in Turkish-language artificial intelligence assistant.
NEXT Teknofest Sosyal, developed jointly by Baykar, Turkey’s leading drone manufacturer, and the Turkey Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation), debuted earlier this month and has already climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store in Turkey in the social networking category, surpassing global platforms like Telegram and Facebook.
NEXT TEKNOFEST SOSYAL 🚀
Farkın olsun 😉
📱👉 https://t.co/r15CE6yBEf pic.twitter.com/jOzNTjEpjd
— Selçuk Bayraktar (@Selcuk) July 22, 2025
Developers promote the app as a “safe and national alternative” to mainstream social networks. It allows users to share content on technology, science, education and current events, with an emphasis on Turkish identity and values. What sets it apart is the integration of T3 AI, a large language model built entirely in Turkish, which interacts with users in real time and mimics the functions of AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
“Hello world, I am T3AI,” the system announced in its first post. Though the AI’s beta phase was short-lived, developers said it helped gather essential feedback and data. “Many thanks for your support and kind messages. I’ll be back renewed and a lot stronger very soon,” the bot posted before temporarily going offline for improvements.
The T3 AI project was developed with support from several government-linked institutions, including the Ministry of Education, the Presidency’s Digital Transformation Office, state broadcaster TRT and the SETA Foundation, a pro-government think tank. It also received technical assistance from Microsoft’s Turkey office and the Turkish Academy of Sciences, and was reportedly trained with the help of more than 1,700 volunteers across 67 provinces.
The T3 Foundation is chaired by Selçuk Bayraktar, the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the chief technology officer of Baykar. Bayraktar has played a prominent role in promoting the country’s domestic defense and tech industries and is the face of Teknofest, an annual aerospace and technology festival backed by the government.
Baykar’s move into digital platforms marks a new phase for a company better known for its armed drones used in conflicts across the Middle East, the Caucasus and Africa. The launch of NEXT Teknofest Sosyal is widely seen as part of a broader push by Ankara to reduce reliance on foreign platforms and promote locally developed digital infrastructure.
While critics have questioned whether the app will uphold freedom of expression or operate independently from government influence, its rapid rise in popularity suggests strong interest in a domestically branded alternative to Western platforms.
NEXT Teknofest Sosyal is available on both iOS and Android, and user registration is open through the T3 Foundation’s website.