Yoshlar Ventures is launching a mentorship program with startup founders from Silicon Valley.

Yoshlar Ventures, a state venture fund financing early-stage startups, announced the launch of a new mentorship program connecting Uzbekistan’s leading startups with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. From August 17 to 22, 2026, four founders of technology companies from the United States will visit Uzbekistan to work with local startups.

The program will be one of the first major initiatives where Silicon Valley company founders work directly with Uzbek entrepreneurs.

Abdulaziz Yoqubov, CEO of Yoshlar Ventures

Participants in the program will spend five days working with invited mentors on strategies for attracting investment, identifying product-market fit, and go-to-market execution. The program includes workshops, individual consultations, and practical sessions.

Startups selected for the program operate in areas such as robotics, physical artificial intelligence, AI, cybersecurity solutions, developer tools, technologies for regulated industries, digital health, and AI-native SaaS. The companies are at various stages of development — from MVP to securing their first paying customers, and up to achieving annual revenues exceeding $1 million.

The visiting mentors bring a worldview and rich experience characteristic of the San Francisco startup ecosystem. Among them are successful entrepreneurs who have graduated from prestigious institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Berkeley, and San Jose State University, and have raised between $1 million and $11 million in funding for their own companies.

Yosin Ehson, CEO of Headstarter Inc.

I have worked with hundreds of early-stage startups through Headstarter and was amazed at how similar the core principles of building a business are everywhere. Tashkent startup founders make quick decisions, know how to work efficiently with limited resources, and are more humble than many entrepreneurs in the US. What they lack is not skill, but the opportunity to access the international ecosystem. That is exactly why I decided to participate in this program.

The new program continues the series of initiatives by Yoshlar Ventures aimed at integrating Uzbek startups into the international venture ecosystem and expanding their opportunities to leverage global investors, capital, and expertise.

About Yoshlar Ventures

Yoshlar Ventures is a $10 million state fund that invests in Pre-Seed and Seed stage startups founded by Uzbek entrepreneurs, regardless of the country where their business is developing. The fund invests $400,000 per project and helps portfolio companies attract international capital, enter new markets, and expand their businesses. By 2027, Yoshlar Ventures plans to increase the fund size to $30 million and form a portfolio of 30 companies.

For more information: yoshlarventures.uz