Efe Cakarel

Efe Çakarel
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology,
Stanford Graduate School of Business
OccupationBusinessman
OrganizationMUBI

Efe Çakarel[1][2][3][4] is a Turkish entrepreneur, most known as the founder and CEO of MUBI.[5][6][7]

Life and career

Following his graduation from the American Collegiate Institute in İzmir, Turkey, Çakarel earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to founding MUBI, he spent a number of years at Goldman Sachs[8] in investment banking. He was part of Turkey's national math team and placed third in the European Math Olympiad.[9] He also has two patents related to monetization of web applications.[10]

In February 2025, The New York Times published a major profile piece on MUBI and Efe Çakarel, positioning MUBI as "a real Hollywood player" following the success of The Substance.[11]

At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025, MUBI paid $24m for Lynne Ramsay’s psychological comedy-drama Die My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, across multiple territories[12] - the biggest deal in to come out of Cannes that year.[13]

In May 2025, the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital invested £100m in MUBI, valuing the company at $1bn.[13]

Criticism and Çakarel's Open Letter

In May 2025, MUBI announced that it had secured $100m in funding from Sequoia Capital.[14] The announcement provoked widespread criticism within the international film community. At least 63 signatories signed an open letter condemning the distribution company's move citing Sequoia's investment in Israeli defense-tech startup, Kela.[15]

Efe Cakarel, in response, wrote an open letter highlighting that profits generated by MUBI will not be used by Sequoia to fund other businesses in its portfolio. Cakarel also mentioned that Sequoia partner, Shaun Maguire was not part of the MUBI board. However, the open letter had no mention of Andrew Reed - the Sequoia Partner Andrew Reed who is on the MUBI board.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ "Bir dahi ile tanıştım: Efe Çakarel". 19 August 2010.
  2. ^ "Girişimcilik 2016: Hayalden Gerçeğe". 25 March 2016.
  3. ^ Les inrockuptibles. Editions Indépendantes. 2009.
  4. ^ "MUBI, 2014 yılını 49 yatırımcıdan 15 milyon dolar yatırımla kapattı". 5 January 2015.
  5. ^ Streaming Hard-to-Find Films for Cinephiles
  6. ^ Ravindran, Manori (2022-09-12). "MUBI Founder on Evolving Into a Studio, Building Global Cinemas and Outbidding Competitors: 'We Paid an Irrational Amount for 'Decision to Leave"". Variety. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  7. ^ Mueller, Matt (2020-12-28). "Perspectives on 2020: Efe Cakarel on MUBI's boom and shattered windows". Screen. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  8. ^ "Bloomberg: Ex-Goldman Banker's Film Website Gets Funds, Samsung Deal". Bloomberg. 11 March 2014.
  9. ^ New York Times: Efe Cakarel - Plunging Into the Stream of Things
  10. ^ US patent application: Method and system for providing feedback on business transactions using computer applications
  11. ^ Sperling, Nicole (2025-02-27). "How 'The Substance' Helped Mubi Break Through". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  12. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (2025-05-18). "Mubi Buys Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson's 'Die My Love' in $24 Million Cannes Deal". Variety. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  13. ^ a b Grimes, Christopher (2025-05-31). "Sequoia bets on indie films with $100mn Mubi fundraising". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-06-02.
  14. ^ Horton, Adrian (2025-08-06). "Mubi film distributor faces backlash over investor's ties to Israeli military". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  15. ^ Ritman, Alex (2025-08-06). "Mubi Faces Mounting Pressure as Ari Folman, Nadav Lapid, Amalia Ulman, Alex Russell and More Add Names to Letter Criticizing Investor With Israeli Military Ties (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  16. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (2025-08-14). "Mubi Boss Efe Cakarel Clarifies Relationship With New Investor After Backlash Over Israeli Military Ties, Sets Advisory Body and Fund for 'Artists at Risk'". Variety. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
  17. ^ "Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel addresses Sequoia investment criticism in open letter". Screen. Retrieved 2025-08-30.


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