Odd Lots · Thursday, July 30, 2026
Iran's tech sector experienced a boom in the early to mid-2010s, fueled by widespread internet access and sanctions that limited foreign tech companies. However, this vibrant ecosystem, mirroring Western models like Amazon and Uber, eventually faced a backlash from security forces. Companies were pressured to sell shares to entities linked to the state or risk investigation and arrest.
“So you kind of start to see the first inklings of this sort of tech industry forming in the early twenty tens. You get some very early foreign investment even before the nuclear deal happening, and some Iranian expats moving back and sort of seeing what's happening and starting venture capital funds. And this really then takes off after the nuclear deal is signed in twenty fifteen and goes into effect in early twenty sixteen, and foreign investors are just really intrigued by this idea that we finally have like the last sort of green field opportunity is in Iran, and maybe it could be the next Russia, it could be the next China, and we could really get in early on this.”
“So you know, they start to really grow. And this kind of takes everyone by surprise, including the government. I think, you know, from interviews I've done, it seemed like the government really sort of thought this stuff was sort of whatever, you know, like okay, I think they didn't quite realize how quickly this field would grow.”
“People are being interrogated, they're being you know, sometimes arrested, even their offices are being raided. And at the same time, what we document is that people kind of middlemen with a foot in the security state and a foot in the private sector, people who had been you know, Ministry of Defense officials or who had served on the boards of some of these bunyards, et cetera. They start to make an offer to some of the startups, and basically the offer is give us like five percent of your shares and we will help protect you from these accusations and from the risks that you're facing.”