Silkroad Innovation Hub's Road to Battlefield competition is back for its second year, continuing its mission to connect founders from Central Eurasia with a global startup stage. The program, run with partners including TechCrunch, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub and IT Park Uzbekistan, leads toward TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt in San Francisco this October.
This year's edition set a new benchmark with 726 applications from 39 countries, up from 485 applications in 2025. The online judging round brought together 47 judges from eight countries, alongside an AI judge named AI-Dana, reflecting how deeply artificial intelligence is shaping the region's innovation culture.
National rounds for Road to Battlefield 2026 took place online from July 6 to 20, producing 22 finalists for the regional stage on August 12. From there, three startups will advance to represent the region at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200.
Finalists and momentum
The finalist list spans Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the U.S., Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Qatar, Japan and Romania. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan each placed six startups in the regional final, underlining their growing role as the region's strongest startup ecosystems.
AI continues to dominate the field: 609 of the 726 applicants are building AI products. Most teams are still early stage, with many at MVP or pre-seed level, while a smaller share has already reached seed or idea-stage development. The youngest applicant is 14, and 89 founders are under 18, showing how early entrepreneurial ambition is taking root across the region.
The competition also comes with meaningful support for top performers. The leading three teams will share an $100,000 investment pool and receive up to $100,000 in OpenAI API credits, while all 22 finalists will get $10,000 in API credits. The top three will also travel to San Francisco for TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200, joining a network of more than 1,000 founders from 39 countries.
As Central Eurasia's startup pipeline expands, Road to Battlefield is becoming a clear bridge between regional talent and global opportunity, pointing toward a future where more founders can scale from local ideas to international impact.
