Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ Win Central Eurasia Road to Battlefield 2026

Central Eurasia has crowned its top regional innovators as Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ secured the podium spots at the 2026 Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield competition. The victorious trio emerged from a highly competitive pool of 22 regional finalists, which had been filtered down from a record 726 applications spanning 39 countries. These winning enterprises are now set to represent the region on an international stage at the Startup Battlefield 200 event during TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco, scheduled for October 13 to 15.

The tournament, organized by the Silkroad Innovation Hub alongside prominent partners including TechCrunch, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub, and IT Park Uzbekistan, saw application volume surge by nearly 50 percent compared to its 2025 debut. The overarching applicant pool demonstrated a heavy concentration in artificial intelligence, with 84 percent of all participating startups building AI-centric products. Live pitches at the regional final were evaluated by a panel of 47 jurors representing eight distinct countries, alongside an independent AI judge named AI-Dana.

Taking the top honor in the regional competition was Cerberus, an Uzbekistan-based cybersecurity startup specializing in automated vulnerability discovery for corporate IT architectures. As Aziz Akhmedkhodjaev, founder and chief executive officer of Cerberus, noted regarding the market pressure, "What made our pitch unique is that we're solving a problem the market is already feeling. Everyone is writing code with AI now, vulnerabilities are appearing faster than teams can find them, and there's no established way to let an AI agent test real infrastructure safely." Akhmedkhodjaev added, "We believe the judges recognized that, and we'll do our best, treating it as a serious responsibility. We don't intend to let our region down."

The victory marks a significant milestone for Uzbekistan, securing the country's first Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield championship. Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technology of Uzbekistan, emphasized that the achievement reflects a broader national shift toward sophisticated technology creation aimed at global markets from inception. Prior to this regional win, Cerberus participated in 500 Global Eurasia and gained acceptance into the Alchemist Silkroad Silicon Valley Residency program, laying the groundwork for its current expansion.

Claiming second place in the competition was Kazakhstan-based WeGlobal AI, which developed an artificial intelligence platform designed to address severe shortages of school psychologists. The platform provides automated tracking for student mental health while delivering personalized career guidance at a scale unattainable through traditional hiring surges alone. Bolat Ashim, co-founder and chief executive officer of WeGlobal AI, described the competitive trajectory, stating that going through the national and regional rounds challenged their strategic thinking and story refinement.

The development aligns closely with Kazakhstan's broader national digital agenda, which places artificial intelligence at the center of economic modernization. Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan, stated that AI creates unprecedented opportunities for countries like Kazakhstan to compete globally, noting that administrative initiatives focus on supplying the required infrastructure, skills, and international linkages for domestic entrepreneurs.

Securing third place in the competition was LOOQ, a hardware and software venture founded by Ayan Sakenov and Yudai Ishida, which builds camera-based technology and an attention application programming interface to measure real-world billboard engagement. Ayan Sakenov described the platform's trajectory, explaining that the company aimed to replicate online click measurement within physical spaces, evolving from an early prototype into active commercial deployments and paying customers.

"Earning our way to San Francisco is a huge milestone, but for us, it's really just the beginning. Startup life is basically building, testing, learning, and occasionally sleeping, and now we're excited to bring LOOQ to the U.S. and show what Google Analytics for the physical world can become," Sakenov stated. The venture's hardware approach targets out-of-home advertising accountability, offering corporate marketers verified physical visibility metrics.

The three victorious companies will divide a $100,000 investment pool funded collaboratively by Astana Hub Ventures, IT Park Ventures, and Silkroad Innovation Hub. Under the terms of the financial distribution, Cerberus receives $50,000, WeGlobal AI secures $30,000, and LOOQ takes $20,000, with capital deployed on standard market terms in exchange for equity. In addition to cash investments, artificial intelligence developer OpenAI contributed $280,000 in API credits across the 22 finalists, distributing $100,000 among the three winners and $10,000 to each of the remaining 19 finalists.

Thomas Jeng, Head of Startups APAC at OpenAI, praised the technical execution and ambition displayed by regional founders. Asset Abdualiyev, founder and chief executive officer of Silkroad Innovation Hub, emphasized that the core objective of the initiative has consistently been providing talented entrepreneurs with international visibility and direct connections to global venture capital networks. The concluded regional final sets the stage for the three champions to present their innovations before more than 10,000 global technology leaders in San Francisco.

Following the conclusion of the regional final round, the three winning startups are preparing for their deployment to the United States. The delegation will present their respective technologies at the Startup Battlefield 200 event during TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, scheduled to take place in San Francisco from October 13 to 15. The upcoming appearance marks the final competitive milestone for the 2026 cohort before a global audience of venture capitalists, technology executives, and industry observers.