DRS, an AI-powered startup, has been accepted into the SR007 round of the a16z Speedrun acceleration program organized by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the leading venture funds in Silicon Valley.
The company has also attracted an undisclosed amount of investment from a16z Speedrun team members Joshua Lu and Marcus Segal.
DRS was founded by Ahmet Onur, co-founder and CEO of Kolektif House, as well as Osman Elsöz and Talha Alver. The startup aims to develop AI-powered consumer applications that create a new category for the global market.
Operating in stealth mode for a while, the DRS team consists of experts who have participated in the development of products that have reached more than 100 million users.
The startup's name is taken from the Drag Reduction System (DRS) technology that facilitates overtaking in Formula 1. Ahmet Onur said the name reflects their approach to engineering, precision and a culture of winning.
According to Onur, he met Osman Elsöz and Talha Alver last year when they decided to create an AI-focused consumer applications studio, and the founding team was formed in a short time. Elsöz and Alver previously held leadership positions at Alictus, a Turkish gaming startup that was acquired by US gaming company SciPlay.
In a LinkedIn post, Ahmet Onur noted that while Kolektif House continues to grow, it is time for him to start working as a founder again, and this time the goal is to build a technology company that will be successful on a global scale from day one.
