The institutions around the companies. Who funds Iran’s startups, who builds them, where they grow, where the founders come from, who speaks for the industry, who sets the rules, and what the payment companies run on. Each entity links back to the companies it’s tied to.
Venture capital firm founded by Saeed Rahmani; the defining early investor of Iran's consumer-internet wave. Fund reported wound down January 2025 (per PitchBook); website offline.
A Stockholm-listed growth investor focused on Iran's consumer internet since 2014, with over EUR 100M deployed. Holdings include Digikala, Cafe Bazaar and Sheypoor.
Corporate venture arm of Pasargad Financial Group. Focus: healthtech, lifestyle, ICT, fintech. Listed partners include Bank Pasargad, FANAP, and Khatam University. IRVC member. Brand family includes Trigup, Chainova, Investorun.
Seed and early-stage venture firm founded by Farhad Rahnema (chairman of Polar Group); founded 2012 per Tracxn. ~36-50 investments per PitchBook/LinkedIn. No website located, LinkedIn/Facebook are its primary channels.
TSE-listed financial group (ticker VFIROUZEH family) spanning asset management, funds, and the Firouzeh Asia brokerage; SEO-supervised. States 100T+ toman under management on its site (company claim). Association with Turquoise Partners reported (per Wikipedia, unverified). Broad asset manager, not a pure tech VC. Site also shows an international arm (EU-licensed fund for TSE investment).
Corporate venture fund of Golrang Industrial Group; states a registered capital of 10,000B rial and describes itself as Iran's largest VC fund by registered capital (company claims). IRVC member. Distinct legal vehicle from the Golrang Ventures innovation arm.
Open-innovation and new-technologies arm of Golrang Industrial Group: corporate accelerator, innovation programs, and talent initiatives. Separate operating entity from the Golrang CVC fund.
Early-stage venture firm; states a portfolio of 35 startups and a newly launched private VC fund (company claims).
Seed/early-stage venture arm associated with telecom firm Pars Iratel (per Reddal research and 2016 CNBC coverage, dated sources). Third-party databases list ~7-9 investments (Huma, Butterfleye, Trendage, Vancosys). Site unreachable from non-Iran IPs; profile pending fuller review.
Investment and capital-management group (self-description). Public site is thin: no disclosed portfolio, AUM, or founding year; classification pending fuller review.
Capital-markets institution: investment funds, discretionary portfolio management, market making, financing, and venture capital, incl. the publicly listed Sepehr 1st Venture Capital Fund under its umbrella (per Kishinvex 2024 conference listing). Site unreachable from non-Iran IPs at review; description via its own indexed text + third-party profiles; pending on-site re-verification.
Growth-stage venture firm (e-commerce, healthcare, fintech; founded 2017 per PitchBook). STATUS CONFLICT recorded: PitchBook describes it in the past tense (inactive); Crunchbase still lists it, site unreachable from non-Iran IPs; unresolved.
Corporate venture arm of EN Bank (Novin Investment Bank Group); accelerator + VC across fintech, IoT, e-commerce (founded 2017 per PitchBook). No live website located; LinkedIn active.
Venture and private-equity principals (11-50 staff per LinkedIn). Site unreachable from non-Iran IPs; portfolio not publicly detailed. Coverage pending fuller review.
Venture firm (11-50 staff per LinkedIn); also appears as Afarinesh Holding, a broader investment entity. Site unreachable from non-Iran IPs; coverage pending.
Small venture firm (2-10 staff per LinkedIn); Valiasr Ave, Tehran. Site unreachable from non-Iran IPs; verified via PEDC listing and LinkedIn.
Full-service capital-markets group (brokerage, asset management; 1,000+ staff per LinkedIn). Appears on Iranian VC rankings as "Agah VC", a distinct venture arm is NOT independently confirmed; recorded as an asset manager with potential VC activity.
Iran's first startup accelerator (2014), running a six-month program; founded by Mohsen Malayeri.
One of Iran's first technology accelerators (2014), affiliated with Amidi Investment Group; a nine-month program that has worked with 350+ teams.
An early Iranian accelerator (2014) affiliated with FANAP and Shenasa VC; ArvanCloud was incubated here.
A fintech-focused accelerator (2017) in Tehran, also offering coworking and venture services. Portfolio includes Lendo.
Digikala Group's accelerator (2018), focused on e-commerce, logistics, fintech and health-tech.
Self-described first technology acceleration center in Iran (founded May 2014, per its own site): finds, nurtures, funds and cultivates ideas, accelerator/incubator rather than a conventional VC.
Iran's flagship technology park, established 2005 under the Vice-Presidency for Science & Technology. Home to 450+ knowledge-based companies across ICT, biotech, nanotech and new materials, on 58 hectares. English brand: Iran International Innovation District (IIID); runs the INOTEX exhibition.
The first branch of Pardis Technology Park and the largest startup campus in Iran, in a repurposed 1950s factory in Tehran. Hosts multiple accelerators and coworking spaces.
Iran's first university science and technology park (2016), operated by Sharif University of Technology, with 500+ companies. Tenants include Cafe Bazaar, Divar and Jibit.
A 27,000 sqm innovation hub in Tehran (2016) in the Sharif University ecosystem, housing 15+ complexes including accelerators (Tavaana, Innoone, Resana, Avia) and companies such as Irancell Labs and Hamrah Mechanic.
Iran's most prominent engineering university and its top source of startup founders. Its alumni founded Cafe Bazaar, Divar and Takhfifan, and its Science & Technology Park has incubated Jibit and others.
Iran's oldest modern university, founded in 1934, and a major source of tech founders, including Tapsi co-founder Milad Monshipour.
A leading engineering university in Tehran, known as Tehran Polytechnic, whose alumni include the founder of Saba Idea, operator of Aparat and Filimo.
A major engineering university in Tehran. Digikala co-founder Hamid Mohammadi holds an MBA from IUST.
A major Tehran university, formerly the National University of Iran, with a strong engineering and sciences base.
Trade body for Iran's e-commerce sector. In August 2026 it published the Iran E-Commerce Report, the first national measurement of Iranian retail spending and the online share of it, covering the seven years to 20 March 2025.
Iran's mandatory trust mark for online businesses, issued through the Electronic Commerce Development Centre of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade. An Iranian site that sells to the public is expected to display it, and payment gateway access in practice depends on holding one.
The holding company at the head of Iran's National Informatics Group, registered in Tehran on 22 Dey 1369 (12 January 1991) as a private joint-stock company. It is the vehicle through which the Central Bank's policy bodies establish and hold the country's payment and currency market infrastructure: it founded Shaparak, it is a shareholder in the Iran Currency and Gold Exchange Centre, and it hosts the Central Bank regulatory sandbox. It is carried here as infrastructure, not as a company on the registry.
The national card payment switch and the licensing body for payment service providers. Its establishment was approved by the Money and Credit Council in Esfand 1389 and it was founded by NIC in Dey 1390, entering operation in Ordibehesht 1391. NIC states that the bulk of its shares were to be transferred to licensed banks on defined performance measures.
The banking technology arm of the group, supplying core banking and interbank payment services to the Iranian banking system. It is a shareholder in the Iran Currency and Gold Exchange Centre alongside NIC, Kashef and Shaparak.
The group's banking security and incident-response company, and one of the four shareholders the Iran Currency and Gold Exchange Centre names.
Established by the Central Bank on 2 Esfand 1401 (21 February 2023) to address monetary and currency pressures. It trades foreign currency, both banknotes and remittances, and precious metals, both bullion and coin, and currently operates a services-currency hall and a currency-remittance hall. Its four named shareholders are NIC, ISC, the Tara staff fund with Kashef, and Shaparak.
Source · Tehran Index ecosystem research · every entity carries a public source. Cross-links go to live company profiles where a match exists.