The largest startup competition in Central Eurasia has brought projects to TechCrunch

The startup ecosystem of Central Eurasia is experiencing its golden moment. It all began with 485 applications from 27 countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the UAE, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the USA, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. This led to the largest startup pitch competition in the history of Central Eurasia — Road to Battlefield, which paves the way for the region's most promising entrepreneurs directly to the prestigious startup stage of San Francisco — TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200.

The Road to Battlefield competition, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in collaboration with TechCrunch and Freedom Holding, is not just another startup contest. It is a historic milestone for a region that has tirelessly built a dynamic technological ecosystem. It will be remembered as the event that put Central Eurasia on the global startup map.

From July 21 to August 12, 380 startups competed in nine national online rounds, presenting a total of 32 hours of pitches. The competition was diverse: 35% of participants were female founders, and the youngest entrepreneur was only 14 years old, from the startup Unify, Uzbekistan.

The startups were at various stages of development: 43 at the idea stage, 224 with an MVP, 127 at the Pre-Seed stage, 65 at the Seed stage, and 26 at the Pre-Series A stage.

This is the first time in TechCrunch history that startups from Central Eurasia have had a dedicated path to one of the world's most prestigious competitions. In addition to selecting promising projects, the initiative stimulated cross-border cooperation, attracted the attention of international investors, and solidified Central Eurasia's status as a region worthy of attention on the global innovation map.

Competition Results

After the national rounds from July 21 to August 12, the competition concluded with the Regional Final of Road to Battlefield on August 15, where 20 finalists presented their projects to an international jury.

The finalists were: Arlan Biotech, Artskin, Athena AI, Biometric Vision, EZSpeech by Mila4AI, FabStory AI, HaWoO2, Hi Doctor, Investbanq, Jobster.hr, LYDYA, MiraiTech, NeuroGuard AI, Pikare SkySource, Polygraf AI, QuickShipper, Snory, Steppe AI, Surfaice, and Zero Waste.

The jury included 40 experts from 10 countries: investors, scientists, and ecosystem leaders. For the first time in history, an AI judge, AI-Gerim, joined the jury as an independent member. This combination of global expert experience and AI evaluation set a new standard for startup analysis.

Winners

Polygraf AI, Azerbaijan, USA — polygraf.ai
Develops locally deployed AI solutions for protection against AI threats and the development of safe policies. Their small language model demonstrates record accuracy in independent tests.

QuickShipper, Georgia — qshpr.com
A delivery platform that allows every retailer to instantly offer efficient deliveries. The solution integrates an internal fleet and external courier networks into a single system.

Surfaice, Kazakhstan, USA — surfaice.pro
An AI platform for construction: it unifies processes from site selection to schedule and budget control. It doubles productivity, for example, increasing the number of projects per year from 100 to 200.

ArtSkin, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan
Develops a neurointerface that transmits tactile sensations in AR/VR, prosthetics, surgery, robotics, and space technologies.

The initiative was supported by leading hubs in the region:

Azerbaijan — Innovation and Digital Development Agency, SABAH.Hub, SABAH.angels,
Georgia — Future Laboratory
Kazakhstan — Astana Hub, Astana Hub Ventures, Nazarbayev University, Silkroad Angels Club
Kyrgyzstan — Accelerate Prosperity
Mongolia — IT Park Mongolia
Tajikistan — IT Park Dushanbe
Turkey — Startup Centrum, Bilkent Cyberpark
Uzbekistan — IT Park Uzbekistan, IT Park Ventures
Singapore — ACE
Moldova — Startup Moldova
International organizations — Organization of Turkic States, EBRD
Media — The Tech.

The four winners — Polygraf AI, QuickShipper, Surfaice, and ArtSkin — are now preparing for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco. There, they will represent Central Eurasia on the world stage, competing with leading startups globally for investments, partnerships, and international recognition.