Overview
Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ have secured the top three spots at the regional final of Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026, earning the right to represent Central Eurasia in the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. The event will take place in San Francisco from October 13–15, where the startups will pitch before more than 10,000 tech leaders. The three winners emerged from a pool of 22 finalists, selected from a record 726 applications across 39 countries. To meet these startups at Disrupt, register for your ticket here.
Record-Breaking Participation
The Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield — organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with TechCrunch, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub, and IT Park Uzbekistan — attracted nearly 50% more applications than its 2025 debut, which saw 485 startups from 27 countries apply. National rounds narrowed the competition to 22 finalists, who pitched live at the Regional Final before 47 jurors from eight countries. AI-Dana, an AI judge, returned as an independent juror for the second consecutive year.
AI Dominance Among Applicants
The applicant pool was overwhelmingly AI-focused: 84% of the 726 startups that applied this year were building AI products. All three winners reflect this trend — an AI agent that hunts for security vulnerabilities (Cerberus); an AI platform for student mental health and career guidance (WeGlobal AI); and AI-powered hardware that measures who actually looks at a billboard (LOOQ).
Quotes from Organizers
“Road to Battlefield 2026 had record applications and representation from more countries than ever. The companies pitching across health tech, education, productivity, enterprise, and cyber were cutting-edge and impressive. These founders are getting global visibility at TechCrunch Disrupt, and that sends a message to the next generation: You can build locally and scale globally. That visibility is a catalyst. Road to Battlefield proves this ecosystem is thriving and that there’s a real pathway for founders here to compete on a world stage,” said Isabelle Johannessen, head of the Startup Battlefield program at TechCrunch.
“We had a very strong applicant pool this year, which made the final selection genuinely difficult,” said Asset Abdualiyev, founder and CEO of Silkroad Innovation Hub. “From the beginning, the idea behind Road to Battlefield has been to give talented founders a platform to be seen, heard, and connected to opportunities beyond the region. Throughout the competition, we invited experienced VCs and tech leaders from different countries, giving founders the opportunity to pitch their companies, receive feedback, and build relationships with the global startup community. The strongest teams made it through to the final, and we are proud to have TechCrunch as a partner in creating this global pathway for founders from Central Eurasia.”
Top 10 Finalists
The rest of the top 10 Road to Battlefield finalists included Suriy (Mongolia), TelAgri (Georgia), SeaDar (Azerbaijan), Kaptın Kaptın (Türkiye), Admyra (United States), MVSxAI (Qatar), and Soup (Kazakhstan).
The Winners
Cerberus (Uzbekistan)
First-place winner Cerberus is an AI-powered cybersecurity startup that automatically hunts for vulnerabilities in corporate IT systems. The company addresses a critical flaw in current AI-driven security tools: many rely on general-purpose language models that can hallucinate, with potentially serious consequences when granted access to corporate systems. Cerberus has already participated in 500 Global Eurasia and has been accepted into the Alchemist Silkroad — Silicon Valley Residency program.
WeGlobal AI (Kazakhstan)
Second-place winner WeGlobal AI provides an AI platform focused on student mental health and career guidance. The tool offers personalized support to help students navigate academic pressures and plan their professional futures.
LOOQ (Kazakhstan)
Third-place winner LOOQ develops AI-powered hardware that measures audience attention to physical advertisements, such as billboards. The technology provides verifiable data on who actually looks at out-of-home advertising, bringing accountability to a traditionally opaque medium.