How this Turkish Photo AI Bootstrapped to $40M ARR in 2 Years, Govini ARR Hit $100M
Almedia Bootstrapped to $100M revenue
Govini ARR Hit $100M
Defense technology is soaring, while Govini, a defense technology company positioning itself as a challenger to Palantir, recently crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), signaling robust traction in the government and defense analytics market.
The company secured $150 million in growth capital from Bain Capital, which elevated its valuation above the $1 billion mark, effectively making it a new unicorn in the defense tech space.
Govini’s core product, known as Ark, offers AI-driven analytics and procurement intelligence to defense and government agencies, enabling data-driven decision-making, predictive logistics, and automation of formerly manual workflows.
The platform competes head-on with Palantir by delivering similar mission-critical analytics capabilities—but with agile architecture suited to evolving defense priorities and cloud workflows. Govini’s rapid ARR growth—reported as 100%+ three-year growth—underlines how agencies are increasingly adopting commercial software models for national security modernization.
With an ARR now at $100 million, Govini claims a 300-person workforce and forecasts continued triple-digit revenue growth as defense budgets shift toward software platforms.
The company also secured a $900 million U.S. government contract, further solidifying its credibility and positioning as a major player in defense software.
Almedia Bootstrapped to $100M revenue
Almedia is a Berlin-based company that has successfully bootstrapped its way to over $100 million in annual revenue.
The company has achieved this remarkable milestone with a relatively small team of about 100 employees, focusing on a profitable growth model by reinvesting profits instead of taking external funding.
Almedia’s business centers around Reward-based User Acquisition in mobile gaming, where users complete in-game missions and surveys to earn real-world rewards, which has fueled their rapid growth and user engagement.
They have reached over 50 million users on their platform Freecash, and have been recognized as one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies, ranking third in the FT1000 list based on their 18,773.2% revenue growth between 2020 and 2023.
Despite their impressive scale, they plan to stay bootstrapped and continue investing in technology and talent to sustain growth.
The Quiet Revolution in AI Photography: How A Turkish Photo AI Bootstrapped to $40M ARR in 2 Years
For years, the mobile photography world has been dominated by filters, touch-up tools, and the endless pursuit of perfection. Everyone wanted to look better — but the tools often made people look fake.
Yet something quietly changed over the past two years. A new wave of AI-powered photo apps started to emerge, promising not artificial beauty but authentic enhancement.
Among them, one app in particular began to stand out — not for viral TikTok filters or celebrity campaigns, but for something much subtler: users saying, “It still looks like me — just a better photo.”
By mid-2025, it had grown from zero to $40M ARR, entirely bootstrapped, built out of Istanbul, and spreading across the App Store charts like wildfire.
So what happened?
