Silkroad Innovation Hub’s Road to Battlefield competition continues

The Road to Battlefield competition, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with TechCrunch, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub, and IT Park Uzbekistan, has entered its second year. Its purpose remains unchanged: to provide founders across Central Eurasia with a direct route to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 during Disrupt 200, which takes place from October 13 to 15 in San Francisco.

Asset Abdualiyev, founder and CEO of Silkroad Innovation Hub, expressed that they have been organizing this program to give founders in their region direct access to top VCs and global ecosystems. The program's first year saw 485 applications from 27 countries, the largest startup pitch event in the region at the time. This year, applications surged to 726 from 39 countries, a 50% increase in submissions and a dozen more countries participating than last year.

The competition, now in its second year, aims to showcase Central Eurasia's rapidly growing startup pipeline. National rounds for Road to Battlefield 2026 were held online from July 6 to 20, resulting in 22 startups selected for the regional final on August 12. From there, three finalists will represent the region at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200.

MoliyAI, Sino AI, Deepen, Fermopolis, Oqim App, Cerberus, Soup, CortexAI, Scano, 4sell.ai, WeGlobal AI, ZhanCare.AI, Kaptın Kaptın, Pocket eSIM, SeaDar, Telagri, Admyra, Soulward, Suriy, MVSxAI, Looq, and Defensive Pedal are among the 22 finalists, all representing Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as the region's largest startup ecosystems.

The competition's focus remains heavily on AI, with 84% of the 726 applicants building AI products, highlighting the rapid growth and dominance of the technology in the region. The youngest applicant is just 14, and 89 applicants, including seven from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, are under 18. The majority of applicants are at the early stage, with 41.6% at MVP, 38.6% pre-seed, 14.7% at seed, and 4.7% still at the idea stage.