Road to Battlefield 2026: 726 Startups, 84% AI, and a New Innovation Corridor from Central Asia to Silicon Valley

The 22 regional finalists and their home countries

The national online rounds ran July 6–20, 2026 . Below is the finalist list consolidated from TechCrunch and the official LinkedIn announcement :

Prizes for winners

The regional final on August 12, 2026, selected three winners :

• 1st place: Uzbekistan's Cerberus (AI-based cybersecurity vulnerability scanner) .
• 2nd place: Kazakhstan's WeGlobal AI .
• 3rd place: Japan's Looq .

Prize package (confirmed by multiple sources) :

• $100,000 investment pool — 1st place $50K, 2nd $30K, 3rd $20K (funded by Astana Hub Ventures, IT Park Ventures, and Silkroad Innovation Hub).
• OpenAI API credits — distributed in the same proportions (total also $100K); all 22 finalists received $10K each in API credits.
• Fully funded trip to San Francisco to compete at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 (October 13–15, 2026, during Disrupt).
• Access to a global network of 1,000+ founders across 39 countries.

Partnership network

The program was organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with :

• TechCrunch (official global stage)
• Freedom Holding Corp. (lead sponsor)
• Astana Hub and Astana Hub Ventures
• IT Park Uzbekistan and IT Park Ventures
• OpenAI for Startups (API credits)
• The Tech (regional media partner)
• Backed by a coalition of 28 regional accelerators and innovation parks .

Development trajectory

• Year 1 (2025): 485 applications, 27 countries → four winners (Polygraf AI, QuickShipper, Surfaice, ArtSkin) .
• Year 2 (2026): ~49% growth in applications, 13 more countries, AI dominance consolidated, and Uzbekistan + Kazakhstan emerged as the region's top innovation hubs with 6 finalists each .
• The competition is now the largest startup pitch event Central Eurasia has ever seen and functions as "a direct line to top VCs and global ecosystems" for previously underrepresented founders .