Hustler Words – The vibrant tech landscape of Central Eurasia has unveiled its champions for the 2026 Road to Battlefield competition, with Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ securing the coveted top three positions. These innovative startups are now poised to represent the region on the global stage, advancing to the prestigious Startup Battlefield 200 at Hustler Words Disrupt 2026, scheduled for October 13-15 in San Francisco, where they will present their groundbreaking solutions to an audience of over 10,000 tech leaders.
The journey to this regional triumph was fiercely competitive. The three winners emerged from a formidable pool of 22 finalists, themselves selected from a record-breaking 726 applications spanning 39 countries. This year’s "Road to Battlefield" initiative, orchestrated by Silkroad Innovation Hub in collaboration with Hustler Words, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub, and IT Park Uzbekistan, witnessed a significant surge in participation, attracting nearly 50% more applications than its 2025 debut, which saw 485 startups from 27 nations. National selection rounds meticulously narrowed the field, culminating in a live regional final where 47 international jurors, augmented by the independent AI judge AI-Dana for a second consecutive year, evaluated the pitches.
Isabelle Johannessen, head of the Startup Battlefield program at Hustler Words, underscored the program’s impact. "Road to Battlefield 2026 showcased unprecedented application numbers and geographic diversity. The caliber of companies across health tech, education, productivity, enterprise, and cybersecurity was truly cutting-edge," she stated. "These founders are gaining invaluable global visibility at Hustler Words Disrupt, sending a clear message: you can innovate locally and achieve global scale. This visibility acts as a powerful catalyst, proving the ecosystem here is thriving and offers a genuine path for founders to compete on a world stage."
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A defining characteristic of this year’s applicant pool was the overwhelming dominance of artificial intelligence. A staggering 84% of the 726 startups were developing AI-driven products, a trend perfectly mirrored by the three winning companies. Asset Abdualiyev, founder and CEO of Silkroad Innovation Hub, remarked on the intense competition: "We had an exceptionally strong applicant pool, making the final selection genuinely challenging. Our vision for Road to Battlefield has always been to provide a platform for talented founders to gain exposure, receive feedback from experienced VCs and tech leaders, and forge connections with the global startup community. We are incredibly proud to partner with Hustler Words in creating this vital global pathway for Central Eurasian innovators."
The top 10 finalists also included notable ventures such as Suriy (Mongolia), TelAgri (Georgia), SeaDar (Azerbaijan), Kaptın Kaptın (Türkiye), Admyra (United States), MVSxAI (Qatar), and Soup (Kazakhstan).
The Innovators Leading the Charge:
Cerberus (Uzbekistan): Securing first place, Cerberus is an AI-powered cybersecurity firm dedicated to automatically identifying vulnerabilities within corporate IT infrastructures. The company addresses a critical flaw it perceives in current AI-driven security tools, many of which rely on general-purpose language models prone to "hallucinations" – a dangerous prospect when integrated into sensitive corporate systems. Cerberus has already garnered recognition from 500 Global Eurasia and secured a spot in the Alchemist Silkroad – Silicon Valley Residency program. Aziz Akhmedkhodjaev, founder and CEO of Cerberus, emphasized their market relevance: "Our pitch resonated because we’re solving an immediate market need. With AI accelerating code development, vulnerabilities are emerging faster than teams can track them, and a safe method for AI agents to test real infrastructure is non-existent. We believe the judges recognized this urgency, and we embrace the responsibility of representing our region." This victory marks Uzbekistan’s first Road to Hustler Words Startup Battlefield champion, signaling the nation’s growing prowess in bringing its emerging tech to the international forefront. Sherzod Shermatov, Minister of Digital Technology of Uzbekistan, highlighted this progress, noting that Cerberus’s success exemplifies the country’s founders building sophisticated products with international markets in mind.
WeGlobal AI (Kazakhstan): The second-place winner, WeGlobal AI, developed its platform in response to a shortage of school psychologists in Kazakhstan. Their AI tools empower educational institutions to monitor student mental health and provide comprehensive career guidance at a scale far exceeding what traditional staffing could achieve. Bolat Ashim, co-founder and CEO of WeGlobal AI, shared his team’s enthusiasm: "The Road to Startup Battlefield was an incredible journey. The national and regional rounds pushed us to refine our thinking and narrative. Finishing second and earning a place in Hustler Words Startup Battlefield 200 in San Francisco is a monumental achievement, and we’re eager to showcase WeGlobal AI on the global stage." This accomplishment aligns with Kazakhstan’s national agenda to position AI at the core of its digital development and foster international connections for its tech companies. Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan, affirmed that AI presents unprecedented global competitive opportunities for nations like Kazakhstan, and programs like Road to Battlefield serve as crucial bridges to the global tech ecosystem.
LOOQ (Japan): Taking third place, LOOQ, founded by Ayan Sakenov and Yudai Ishida, is revolutionizing outdoor advertising measurement. Their camera-based hardware and "attention API" precisely track how many individuals genuinely observe billboards and other out-of-home advertisements. This technology provides advertisers with an unprecedentedly clear metric of real-world engagement. Ayan Sakenov, founder and CEO, articulated LOOQ’s foundational vision: "Our journey began with a simple yet ambitious question: if online clicks are measurable, why not physical world interactions? We’ve evolved from a prototype to real-world deployments and customer success, culminating in this third-place finish. Advancing to San Francisco is a huge milestone, but for us, it’s just the beginning. We’re excited to introduce LOOQ to the U.S. and demonstrate the potential of ‘Google Analytics for the physical world.’"
Investment and Future Prospects:
Beyond the prestige, the three winners will share a $100,000 investment pool, jointly funded by Astana Hub Ventures, IT Park Ventures, and Silkroad Innovation Hub. Cerberus will receive $50,000, WeGlobal AI $30,000, and LOOQ $20,000, all invested on standard market terms in exchange for equity.
Further bolstering the ecosystem, OpenAI awarded $280,000 in API credits across all 22 finalists. The three winners collectively received $100,000 in credits, mirroring the investment prize structure, while the remaining 19 finalists each secured $10,000 in API credits. Thomas Jeng, Head of Startups APAC at OpenAI, commended the region’s talent: "Founders across Central Eurasia demonstrated remarkable ambition, a clear focus on solving real problems, and strong technical proficiency in building with AI. Competitions like this are vital for connecting them with the global networks needed to transform their ideas into products that reach far beyond the region."
For Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ, the regional final of the Road to Hustler Words Startup Battlefield 2026 marks not an end, but the thrilling beginning of a much larger, global competition in San Francisco.
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