The Highway to Battlefield competitors, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with TechCrunch, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub, IT Park Uzbekistan, is now in its second yr. Its function hasn’t modified because it launched: Give founders throughout Central Eurasia a direct path to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 throughout this yr’s Disrupt from October 13 – 15 in San Francisco.
“For 2 years now, along with our companions, we’ve been organizing Highway to TC Startup Battlefield to provide founders in our area a direct line to the highest VCs and international ecosystems, one they didn’t have earlier than at this scale,” mentioned Asset Abdualiyev, founder and CEO of Silkroad Innovation Hub. “There’s plenty of expertise right here the world hasn’t discovered but, and that’s precisely who we’re in search of, founders and concepts from each nook of the area who haven’t had their second.”
This system’s first yr, 2025, drew 485 purposes from 27 international locations, the most important startup pitch occasion the area had seen on the time. Three startups got here out of it to characterize Central Eurasia on the worldwide stage: Polygraf AI (Azerbaijan/U.S.), Surfaice (Kazakhstan/U.S.), and Investbanq (Singapore/U.S.).
This yr, purposes jumped to 726 from 39 international locations, which is up practically 50% in submissions and a dozen extra international locations than final yr. It is a document for this system, spanning Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Center East, Japanese Europe, and South Asia. Founders pitched on-line in entrance of 47 judges from eight international locations, drawn from high VC companies, main tech hubs, and founders who’ve scaled their very own firms, alongside an AI decide, AI-Dana, as unbiased jury.
What makes the competitors value watching now, in its second yr, is its trajectory. Central Eurasia is now producing one of many fastest-growing startup pipelines in rising markets, and the numbers again it up.
Nationwide rounds for Highway to Battlefield 2026 ran on-line from July 6 to twenty. Twenty-two startups got here out of it, they usually’ll now head to a regional ultimate on August 12. From there, judges will slim the sphere to a few finalists who’ll characterize the area at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200.
Meet the Highway to Battlefield finalists
These 22 finalists are MoliyAI (Uzbekistan), Sino AI (Uzbekistan), Deepen (Uzbekistan), Fermopolis (Uzbekistan), Oqim App (Uzbekistan), Cerberus (Uzbekistan), Soup (Kazakhstan), CortexAI (Kazakhstan), Scano (Kazakhstan), 4sell.ai (Kazakhstan), WeGlobal AI (Kazakhstan), ZhanCare.AI (Kazakhstan), Kaptın Kaptın (Türkiye), Pocket eSIM (Türkiye), SeaDar (Azerbaijan), Telagri (Georgia), Admyra (U.S.), Soulward (Kyrgyzstan), Suriy (Mongolia), MVSxAI (Qatar), Looq (Japan), and Defensive Pedal (Romania).
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan every have six startups within the regional ultimate, a transparent signal that these two now stand because the area’s largest startup ecosystems.
“We’re seeing regular progress in AI merchandise, particularly from Kazakhstan and Central Eurasia, and that tracks precisely with our imaginative and prescient,” mentioned Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of Astana Hub. “This progress displays the strengthening of our innovation ecosystem and the large work being performed throughout it. At Astana Hub, our mission is to nurture the subsequent era of worldwide aggressive founders able to scale into markets just like the U.S., and it’s inspiring to see lots of them take the stage, compete internationally, and transfer one step nearer to the world’s main startup stage.”
The truth is, AI dominates the applicant pool: 609 of the 726 startups, roughly 84%, are constructing AI merchandise, underscoring how shortly the expertise has develop into the default start line for founders within the area.
“For founders from Uzbekistan and throughout Central Eurasia, coming into worldwide markets is changing into a part of their technique from the very starting, as extra startups construct merchandise with the potential to compete and scale globally,” mentioned Azamat Karamatov, CEO of IT Park Uzbekistan. “This displays the area’s shift towards a extra linked and aggressive innovation ecosystem. For IT Park Uzbekistan, the precedence is to strengthen the pathways that join excessive potential startups with worldwide buyers, clients, experience, and main expertise ecosystems. Highway to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield contributes to this effort by giving founders from our area the chance to take part in TechCrunch Disrupt and the Startup Battlefield stage within the U.S., acquire international publicity, construct worthwhile worldwide connections, and have interaction instantly with one of many world’s main expertise markets.”
The competitors’s youngest applicant is simply 14, and 89 of the 726 candidates, together with seven founders from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, are below 18. Most candidates are early stage, too: 41.6% at MVP and 38.6% pre-seed, with 14.7% at seed and 4.7% nonetheless on the thought stage.
Behind the competitors is a large community of regional companions, supported by main regional innovation hubs and accelerators throughout Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Qatar, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan: Speed up Prosperity, Activat VC, Ardventure, Bilkent Cyberpark, Bilişim Vadisi, Caucasus Ventures, CEVF, Doha Enterprise Consulting, Future Laboratory, Future Unicorns, International Tech Weekend Tbilisi, Hey Tomorrow Türkiye, IT Park Dushanbe, IT Park Mongolia, Khan Tengri Innovation Hub, MOST, Nazarbayev College, SABAH Angels, SABAH Fund, Silkroad Angels, Sofia Tech Park, Startup Moldova, Stanbase, StartupCentrum, and Terricon Valley, with regional media assist from TheTech.
This yr introduced some new stakes to the desk, too:
- An $100,000 funding prize pool, cut up $50,000, $30,000, and $20,000 throughout the highest three finalists, is being funded collectively by Astana Hub Ventures, IT Park Ventures, and Silkroad Innovation Hub.
- The highest three winners will stand up to $100,000 in OpenAI API credit cut up the identical means, whereas the remainder of the Prime 22 finalists will every stroll away with $10,000 in OpenAI API credit.
“We’ve been supporting the ecosystem from the very starting, and this yr isn’t any exception,” mentioned Marlen Sikhayev, adviser to the president of Freedom Holding Corp. “What stands out most is how a lot of it’s being pushed by AI, options constructed proper right here in Kazakhstan and throughout our area which might be now not staying native. They’re being proven to the world, on the identical stage as the most important names in tech. That’s precisely what we got down to assist after we backed this initiative, and it’s precisely what retains us backing it.”
The three eventual winners may even get a totally paid journey and lodging to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 in San Francisco, together with entry to a community of greater than 1,000 founders spanning 39 international locations.
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