# Ahmet Bahadir Özdemir

> Ahmet Bahadir Özdemir is the Turkish co-founder and CEO of Airalo, the travel eSIM platform launched in 2019 with Abraham Burak. His background in ship supplies led to Sim4crew and then downloadable mobile plans for travelers. Based in Dubai, he has publicly emphasized employee autonomy, kindness and practical business discipline as Airalo expanded across more than 200 destinations.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Airalo
- **Organizations:** Airalo, Sim4crew, Wossco, Antler, Endeavor
- **Nationality:** Turkish
- **Education:** Studied business administration; described leaving university to start a business, Middle East Technical University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Airalo in 2019., Led Airalo as it announced a $220 million investment round and a valuation above $1 billion in July 2025., Airalo passed 30 million customers in June 2026.

## Career timeline

- **Age 19** — Won a university entrepreneurship competition with a $50,000 prize for a vehicle black-box idea and left university, according to his first-person account.
- **2012-2016** — Founded and ran Wossco, a ship-supply business, according to his public career history.
- **2017** — Founded Sim4crew, a global mobile service for seafarers.
- **2018** — Recognized the implications of eSIM-compatible phones for his physical SIM business.
- **2019** — Participated in Antler in Singapore and co-founded Airalo with Abraham Burak.
- **2021** — Airalo announced $5.4 million in Series A funding led by Rakuten Ventures.
- **2023** — Airalo raised a $60 million Series B led by e& capital.
- **2024** — Airalo announced more than 10 million users and launched Airalo Partners.
- **2025** — Selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur; Airalo later announced a $220 million investment round led by CVC at a valuation exceeding $1 billion.
- **2026** — Airalo announced more than 30 million customers and new WHSmith North America and Consumer Cellular partnerships.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Airalo in 2019.
- Led Airalo as it announced a $220 million investment round and a valuation above $1 billion in July 2025.
- Airalo passed 30 million customers in June 2026.
- Selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur at the 102nd International Selection Panel in Dubai.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Airalo announced a Consumer Cellular partnership, providing a co-branded portal for the carrier’s 4.5 million subscribers.
- **2026-07** — Airalo published a WHSmith North America partnership announcement covering 90 airport retail locations.
- **2026-06** — Airalo announced it had surpassed 30 million customers.
- **2025-11** — UK Companies House records his appointment as a director of AIRGSM UK LIMITED on 14 November 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://www.airalo.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bahadirozdemir/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ahmet-bahadir-ozdemir
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26