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Turkish defense giant Baykar's Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar announced Wednesday that Next Teknofest Sosyal—a new Turkish social media platform developed by young entrepreneurs from Teknofest, Türkiye’s first and only aerospace and technology festival—has been officially launched to the public.
The app quickly surged in popularity, climbing to the top of the App Store’s “Social Networking” category.
Next Teknofest Sosyal is, in simple terms, a new social media platform. Oriented toward microblogging and similar in structure to X, it has attracted attention for being completely free to use and ad-free. According to the official statement, the platform will also operate without a personalized algorithm system—a major departure from the data-driven approach of mainstream social media networks..
Whether Next can emerge as a serious rival to the world’s largest microblogging platform, X, remains to be seen. However, its early success suggests a growing appetite in Türkiye for alternatives that prioritize privacy, transparency, and local innovation.
Next Teknofest Sosyal also sets itself apart by integrating T3 AI, a Turkish-language large language model co-developed by the Türkiye Technology Team Foundation (T3 Foundation) and Baykar. Users can tag T3 AI in their posts to receive rapid, context-aware responses.
The AI assistant is equipped to interpret multilingual content, answer questions, and make personalized suggestions, all while promoting ethical digital engagement. Its design emphasizes a safe, healthy, and community-first communication environment.
According to Turkish news agency Anadolu, Next Teknofest Sosyal recently became the most downloaded free app in the App Store’s social networking category.
It surpassed global platforms such as Telegram, Facebook, and OmeTV, reflecting a surge in domestic user engagement.
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