In a sweeping display of talent from Central Eurasia, Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ earned the top three spots at the 2026 Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield regional final, and will move on to compete at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 13–15. These winners emerged from a pool of 22 finalists selected out of 726 applicants spanning 39 countries. The network for this region’s startup acceleration is powered by Silkroad Innovation Hub in collaboration with TechCrunch, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub, and IT Park Uzbekistan.
The Dominance of AI
The majority of applicant startups—84%—were working on AI-driven products, a sign that Central Eurasia is riding a wave toward intelligence-enabled innovation. All three winners adhere to that trend. Their domains span cybersecurity, education/mental health, and out-of-home advertising measurement.
Who the Winners Are
Cerberus (Uzbekistan)claimed first place with an AI-based cybersecurity solution that automatically detects vulnerabilities in enterprise systems. Its approach was chosen over many others for emphasizing safety in testing real infrastructure—responding to concerns about “hallucinations” in AI tools that use general-purpose language models. Cerberus has already participated in Global Eurasia and joined the Alchemist Silkroad Silicon Valley Residency program.
WeGlobal AI (Kazakhstan)took second place with its platform tackling a shortage of school psychologists. The product helps schools monitor students’ mental health and offers career guidance, making support possible where human resources are limited. It reflects Kazakhstan’s growing focus on AI as central to its digital transformation.
LOOQ (Japan)came in third, building hardware with a camera-based system and an “attention API” designed to measure real-world visibility of billboards and other outdoor ads. It endeavors to bring physical advertising metrics closer to the granularity of online tracking tools.
Prizes, Opportunities & Finalists
The three winners split a US$100,000 investment fund: Cerberus gets $50,000, WeGlobal AI $30,000, and LOOQ $20,000. In addition, OpenAI handed out $280,000 in API credits among all 22 finalists. Each winner also received credits matching their share of the investment, while the remaining finalists got $10,000 each.
The final 22 included startups from countries like Mongolia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, the United States, Qatar, and Kazakhstan. Names like Suriy (Mongolia), TelAgri (Georgia), SeaDar (Azerbaijan), Kaptın Kaptın (Türkiye), Admyra (USA), MVSxAI (Qatar), and Soup (Kazakhstan) made the top ten.
Beyond the competition, this event serves as a stage for Central Eurasian innovators. The founders get access to feedback from international VCs, pitch practice, and the chance to build connections across borders. This pathway feeds straight into TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, bringing the winners to San Francisco with thousands of tech leaders in attendance.
