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The startup ecosystem in Central Eurasia is having its moment. What started as 485 applications from across 27 countries including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, UAE, UK, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan, Vietnam has culminated in the largest startup pitch competition in Central Eurasia’s history the “Road to the Battlefield”, that’s putting the region’s most promising entrepreneurs on a direct path to San Francisco’s most prestigious startup stage at Read Startup Battlefield 200.

The Road to the Battlefield competition, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with Read and Freedom Holding, is more than just another startup contest. It marks a historic milestone for a region that has been steadily building its dynamic tech ecosystem and will be remembered as the event that put Central Eurasia on the global startup map.

Between July 21 and August 12, 380 startups pitched across nine national rounds online, delivering an impressive 32 hours of pitching content. The competition showcased remarkable diversity, with 35% of participating startups founded by female founders, and the youngest entrepreneur, just 14 years old, was from Unify (Uzbekistan).

The startups represented various development stages: 43 in the idea stage, 224 with MVPs, 127 in pre-seed, 65 in the seed stage, and 26 in pre-Series A. 

Now, four standout startups, Polygraf AI (Azerbaijan, USA), QuickShipper (Georgia), Surfaice (USA, Kazakhstan), and ArtSkin (Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan) have secured spots at Read Startup Battlefield 2025 in San Francisco, where they’ll compete against some of the most promising ventures from around the world.

This marks the first time in Read history that startups from Central Eurasia have had a dedicated pathway to one of the tech world’s most prestigious competitions. Beyond identifying high-potential ventures, the initiative has sparked cross-border collaboration, attracted international investor interest, and firmly positioned Central Eurasia as a region to watch on the global innovation map.

Competition Results

Following the national rounds from July 21 to August 12, the competition concluded with a Regional Final of Road to Battlefield on August 15, where 20 finalists presented to an international panel of judges.

The 20 finalists who advanced to the Regional Competition were Arlan Biotech, Artskin, Athena AI, Biometric Vision, EZSpeech by Mila4AI, FabStory AI, HaWoO2, Hi Doctor, Investbanq, and Jobster.hr, LYDYA, MiraiTech, NeuroGuard AI, Pikare SkySource, Polygraf AI, QuickShipper, Snory, Steppe AI, Surfaice, and Zero Waste.

A panel of 40 jury members from 10 countries judged the national online competitions, representing a broad spectrum of investors, academics, and ecosystem leaders. The jury included Aidana Bergazdenova (Astana Hub Ventures), Dalerkhon Nodirov (IT Park Ventures), Zolzaya Jargalsaikhan (IT Park Mongolia), Abdulla Al-Naimi (Doha Business Consulting), Agahuseyn Ahmadov (IDDA), Alya Abbaszada (SABAH Angels), Marat Tolybai (Activat VC), Samir Hajibayli (Caucasus Ventures), Yuhan Fang (Stanford Institute), Nihal Yazgan (Bilkent CYBERPARK), Müge Bezgin (Startup Centrum), Kim Latypov (VC Lawyer, Stanford GSB), Deon Nicholas (Forethought AI, winner of Read Startup Battlefield 2018), Ella Shukho (500 Global), Darsh Mann (StartX), Aziza Zakhidova (EBRD Ventures), Abay Absamet (Silkroad Angels Club), Isabelle Johannessen, Head of Read Startup Battlefield Program, and others.

For the first time in the competition’s history, the panel was joined by an AI judge named AI-Gerim, who served as an independent jury member, adding an innovative layer of evaluation to pitches. Together, this combination of global expertise and AI-driven insights sets a new standard for assessing emerging startups.

The startups showcased a vibrant cross-section of industries, with Artificial Intelligence leading the way. Founders tackled real-world problems in AI & Automation, EdTech, HealthTech, FinTech, Green & Climate Tech, AgriTech, HRTech, MarTech, SaaS, and E-commerce.

After a highly competitive final round, four winning startups were selected to represent Central Eurasia:

Polygraf AI (Azerbaijan)

Polygraf AI delivers locally deployed AI solutions that detect AI threats and protect policies against any AI solutions. Their SLM (small language model) AI solutions are fast and perform the highest accuracy in third-party audits.

QuickShipper (Georgia)

QuickShipper is a delivery gateway that enables every retailer to offer efficient and delightful deliveries instantly from a single window. The startup offers companies a comprehensive ecosystem for managing their in-house drivers, along with a network of integrated delivery partners.

Surfaice (Kazakhstan and USA)

Surfaice offers a unified AI-driven operating system featuring an autonomous fleet of agents that integrate workflows such as site search, budgeting, bidding, punch-list automation, and milestone tracking. This results in a 2X increase in productivity, for example, doubling the number of store builds per year from about 100 to 200. It provides a single, comprehensive platform for all their construction software.

In an unprecedented move that added even more excitement to the competition, Read decided to make their own selection and choose ArtSkin as a special Read pick, bringing the total to four startups representing the region. 

ArtSkin (Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan)

Artskin develops neurointerface technology that transmits the sensation of touch to the human body across multiple cutting-edge fields, including AR/VR, bionic prosthetics, telerobotics, spacetech, surgery, and humanoid robotics.

The other top 10 finalists were Arlan Biotech, Investbanq, Athena AI, MiraiTech, HaWoO2, and Biometric Vision.

These four teams now face a few months of preparation before stepping onto the main stage. At Read Disrupt, they’ll pitch alongside startups from all over the world competing for investment, partnerships, and global recognition.

Beyond the Pitch

For participating founders, the competition delivered value beyond the final rankings. The exposure, connections, and validation from participating in a globally recognized platform proved transformative in ways they hadn’t anticipated.

What’s happening across Central Eurasia reflects a crucial development. This isn’t just about individual companies seeking investment; it’s about an entire region’s entrepreneurs measuring themselves against global standards and finding they belong in the conversation.

The impact of Road to the Battlefield extends beyond the final pitch presentations. The competition has encouraged cross-border dialogue among entrepreneurs across the region and attracted new investor interest in Central Eurasian startups.

The main partner is Freedom Holding Corp, a Nasdaq-listed financial services holding company (ticker: FRHC) headquartered in Kazakhstan. As of May 2025, the company achieved a remarkable milestone with a valuation of approximately US $10 billion, reflecting investor confidence and market strength. It has established itself as one of the most influential financial players in the region, earning a strong reputation for supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. Its support for the Road to Read Startup Battlefield reflects not only its global stature but also its long-term commitment to empowering founders from Central Eurasia, helping them connect with international markets and scale their impact.

More significantly, it has introduced Central Eurasia to the tech world in Silicon Valley as a source of innovative solutions and emerging talent. The competition was supported by leading innovation hubs and accelerators across the region: Azerbaijan – Innovation and Digital Development Agency, SABAH.Hub, SABAH.angels; Bulgaria/USA – Future Unicorns; Georgia – Future Laboratory; International Organizations – Organization of Turkic States, EBRD; Kazakhstan – Astana Hub, Astana Hub Ventures, Nazarbayev University, Silkroad Angels Club; Kyrgyzstan – Accelerate Prosperity; Media – The Tech; Moldova – Startup Moldova; Mongolia – IT Park Mongolia; Singapore – ACE; Tajikistan – IT Park Dushanbe; Türkiye – Startup Centrum, Bilkent Cyberpark; and Uzbekistan – IT Park Uzbekistan, IT Park Ventures. The initiative connected founders who might not have otherwise collaborated and provided a platform to showcase regional talent on a global scale.

As the four winning startups prepare for San Francisco, they represent the growing ambitions of Central Eurasia’s entrepreneurial community. The competition has created new pathways for regional startups to access international opportunities and resources.

This article was co-written with Aikumis Seksenbayeva.