Key facts
- Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ won the Central Eurasia regional final of the Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026.
- The winners will advance to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco.
- 84% of the 726 startups that applied were building AI products.
- Cerberus is an AI cybersecurity startup.
- WeGlobal AI provides an AI platform for student mental health and career guidance.
- LOOQ uses AI-powered hardware to measure billboard viewership.
Cerberus, WeGlobal AI, and LOOQ have been named the top three winners of the Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026 regional final for Central Eurasia. The trio will advance to compete at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco from October 13-15, joining global finalists before an audience of over 10,000 tech leaders.
The competition, organized by Silkroad Innovation Hub in partnership with TechCrunch, Freedom Holding, Astana Hub, and IT Park Uzbekistan, saw a record 726 applications from 39 countries, a nearly 50% increase from its 2025 debut. Of the applicants, 84% were developing AI products, reflecting a significant trend in the startup ecosystem.
First-place winner Cerberus, based in Uzbekistan, is an AI cybersecurity startup focused on automatically hunting for vulnerabilities in corporate IT systems. Second-place winner WeGlobal AI from Kazakhstan developed an AI platform to track student mental health and provide career guidance, addressing a shortage of school psychologists. Third-place winner LOOQ, founded by Ayan Sakenov and Yudai Ishida, uses AI-powered hardware and an 'attention API' to measure real-world viewership of out-of-home advertisements.
These three startups will share a $100,000 investment pool funded by Astana Hub Ventures, IT Park Ventures, and Silkroad Innovation Hub, with Cerberus receiving $50,000, WeGlobal AI $30,000, and LOOQ $20,000. Additionally, OpenAI awarded $280,000 in API credits across all 22 finalists.