Ancient regional festival launches to exhibit Central Eurasia’s emerging startup ecosystem on Silicon Valley’s greatest degree.
For the primary time in its historical past, Central Eurasia may have an instantaneous pathway to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield throughout the release of “Street to Battlefield,” a groundbreaking regional festival that guarantees to place the underrepresented area firmly at the international innovation map.
The contest, arranged by means of Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with TechCrunch and Freedom Protecting, will span 9 nations throughout Central Eurasia: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Nationwide competitions will result in a regional ultimate the place the highest 3 startups will earn spots in TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2025 in San Francisco.
“We’ve been showing startups at TechCrunch Disrupt for a number of years as companions — 14 startups in 2023, 24 startups in 2024 — and we see that they may be able to be aggressive,” mentioned Asset Abdualiyev, CEO and founding father of Silkroad Innovation Hub. “In 2024, we had the biggest pavilion at TechCrunch Disrupt. We’re satisfied to take our partnership with TechCrunch Disrupt to the following degree by means of offering direct get entry to to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 to probably the most promising startups from the Central Eurasian area.”
A area able for popularity
Central Eurasia’s startup ecosystem has been quietly development momentum, representing a dynamic tech hub of 100 million other folks with probably the most youngest populations on the planet. The area produces roughly 200,000 STEM graduates once a year and is house to an estimated 7,000 lively startups throughout key sectors, together with AI, fintech, edtech, medtech, and e-commerce.
The numbers inform a compelling tale: Undertaking investment in Central Asia and the South Caucasus has grown 5.5x in recent times, attaining $110 million in 2023 and $150 million within the first part of 2024 by myself. Notable successes come with AI corporate Higgsfield, valued at over $100 million, and Uzum from Uzbekistan, which raised $114 million in investment, turning into the rustic’s first unicorn with a valuation of $1.16 billion. In the meantime, regional places of work of worldwide avid gamers, akin to Telegram and inDrive, have established operations in Kazakhstan.
In spite of this expansion, the area’s attainable stays in large part untapped by means of international traders. The Street to Battlefield festival objectives to modify that narrative by means of offering unheard of visibility and get entry to to Silicon Valley’s maximum influential networks.
“No longer all traders know how huge the alternatives are in that area,” defined Mr. Abdualiyev. “This festival is ready showcasing that Central Eurasia has startups that deserve international popularity.”The initiative has garnered sturdy strengthen from key regional avid gamers. Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of Astana Hub in Kazakhstan, emphasised the significance of this chance: “We’ve been serving to startups scale in the United States thru our acceleration techniques and feature noticed actual growth. Many corporations have already secured native investments, and this festival supplies a fair larger platform for Kazakhstan’s startups to be uncovered.”
Sturdy Regional Partnership
The contest advantages from a powerful partnership community around the area, supported by means of main regional innovation hubs and accelerators:
Astana Hub (Kazakhstan), IT Park Uzbekistan (Uzbekistan), Long run Laboratory (Georgia), Sabah Hub and Innovation and Virtual Construction Company (IDDA) (Azerbaijan), IT Park Mongolia (Mongolia), Boost up Prosperity (Kyrgyzstan), IT Park Dushanbe (Tajikistan), and Startup Centrum (Türkiye).
IT Park Uzbekistan, probably the most key supporters, sees this as a the most important step in ecosystem construction:
“We’re satisfied to strengthen and lend a hand Uzbek startups scale globally,” mentioned Abdulakhad Kuchkarov, CEO of IT Park Uzbekistan. “We want that thru our efforts to conform the undertaking ecosystem, our startups can also be noticed in the United States marketplace and amplify globally. As a part of the Central Asia Innovation Hub that we are actually imposing with Astana Hub, this initiative aligns completely with our regional construction objectives.”The initiative is subsidized by means of Freedom Protecting as the principle spouse, demonstrating vital non-public sector dedication to regional innovation. “Freedom Protecting Corp. has been supporting Central Eurasian groups at the international TechCrunch degree for a number of years now, and this yr is not any exception,” mentioned Marlen Sikhayev, Adviser to the President of Freedom Finance World PLC. “We consider in the possibility of regional marketers and need to give them get entry to to very best practices, mentorship, and investments. This initiative no longer handiest supplies the most important strengthen for startups but in addition demonstrates that Central Eurasia’s generation and innovation sector is preserving tempo with international developments and creating as a unified area.”
Pageant Construction and Timeline
The contest follows a moderately structured procedure:
Degree 1: Nationwide Competitions (July 21 – August 10) Each and every nation will host on-line pitch occasions.
Degree 2: Regional Ultimate (August 15) The highest 20 startups will compete in an internet regional ultimate to decide the 3 winners.
Degree 3: Battlefield Preparation (September 1 – October 24) Winners obtain extensive preparation thru weekly webinars main as much as TechCrunch Disrupt 2025.
Degree 4: TechCrunch Startup Battlefield (October 26-29) The 3 finalists go back and forth to Silicon Valley to compete within the TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200.
Unique Advantages for Winners
The 3 profitable startups will obtain a complete bundle designed to maximise their Silicon Valley enjoy:
- Assured spots in TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200
- Spherical-trip flights to San Francisco for as much as two workforce participants
- Lodging coated for as much as two weeks
- Startup sales space and show off house for all 3 days of TechCrunch Disrupt
- Investor and networking get entry to to height VCs and personal business occasions
- Branding and media publicity thru tournament fabrics and protection alternatives
Startup Standards
The contest objectives early-stage startups that meet explicit standards:
- Will have to no longer have exceeded the pre-series A investment degree
- Will have to have a useful MVP
- Will have to have restricted international media publicity
- Will have to be based totally in probably the most 9 Central Eurasian nations
Construction on Good fortune
TechCrunch Disrupt stands as probably the most global’s maximum influential tech meetings, attracting over 165,000 attendees and that includes audio system akin to Elon Musk, Serena Williams, and Satya Nadella. At its core, TechCrunch Startup Battlefield boasts an excellent 15-plus-year monitor file of launching international tech giants, together with Trello, Dropbox, N26, Mint, and Forethought AI. Alumni corporations have jointly raised over $32 billion, with greater than 50 unicorns rising from this system.
Each and every yr, 200 early-stage startups compete for exceptional publicity to top-tier traders and media, with 20 finalists advancing to compete reside for $100,000 investment and the enduring Disrupt Cup.
A Ancient Second
The release of Street to Battlefield represents greater than only a festival; it’s a ancient second for Central Eurasia’s startup ecosystem. By means of developing an instantaneous pathway to probably the most global’s maximum prestigious startup levels, the initiative guarantees to boost up the area’s integration into the worldwide innovation financial system.
As the contest opens for programs, marketers throughout Central Eurasia now have a possibility to exhibit their inventions to Silicon Valley’s maximum influential traders and companions. For a area that has lengthy been underrepresented in international startup competitions, it might be the catalyst that transforms Central Eurasia right into a known hub of worldwide innovation.
Packages for Street to Battlefield are actually open at https://road2battlefield.com/ , with a time limit of July 15, 2025.
