Uzbekistan-based cybersecurity startup Cerberus has won the Central Eurasian regional final of Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026 and secured a place at the global Startup Battlefield 200 stage in San Francisco.
The regional final took place on August 12, bringing together some of the most promising startups from across Central Eurasia. Cerberus finished first, ahead of Kazakhstan’s WeGlobal AI and Japan’s LOOQ, with all three startups earning the opportunity to advance to the global stage.
The competition attracted 726 applications from 39 countries this year. Following national selection rounds, 22 startups advanced to the regional final, including six projects representing Uzbekistan: Cerberus, MoliyAI, Sino AI, Deepen, Fermopolis and Oqim App.
Cerberus is being developed by C7 Cybersecurity and focuses on applying artificial intelligence to cybersecurity. Its technology is designed to automatically identify vulnerabilities in corporate IT systems, automate security testing and control the actions of AI systems within predefined parameters.
The startup’s approach addresses a growing challenge for businesses: as companies increasingly integrate AI into their operations, they also face new security risks and vulnerabilities. Cerberus aims to help organizations identify these risks automatically and maintain greater control over AI-driven systems.
The project has already attracted international investor attention. In June 2026, Cerberus raised investment from global venture capital firm 500 Global, adding to its international exposure ahead of the TechCrunch competition.
The regional competition has a total $100,000 prize pool. Cerberus, as the first-place winner, will receive $50,000, while WeGlobal AI and LOOQ will receive $30,000 and $20,000, respectively.
The prize pool is supported by IT Park Ventures, Astana Hub Ventures and Silkroad Innovation Hub. In addition, OpenAI will provide $100,000 worth of API credits, distributed among the winners according to the same proportion.
The winning teams will also have the opportunity to showcase their products during TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 and pitch on the Startup Battlefield 200 stage.
For each team, two representatives will receive a fully funded trip to San Francisco, including airfare and accommodation for one week. A global stage for Uzbekistan’s startup ecosystem Cerberus will represent Central Eurasia at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 in San Francisco on October 13–15, 2026.
Startup Battlefield is one of TechCrunch’s flagship startup programs, bringing selected early-stage companies onto a global platform in front of investors, technology companies and the international startup community. The program has previously featured companies such as Dropbox, Trello, Cloudflare and Discord before they became globally recognized.
For Cerberus, the San Francisco stage will be more than a competition. It will provide an opportunity to introduce an Uzbek-built cybersecurity product to international investors and technology companies, while also increasing the visibility of Uzbekistan’s growing startup ecosystem.
The result is another notable international milestone for Uzbekistan’s technology sector: an Uzbek cybersecurity startup is heading to one of the world’s most recognized startup stages in Silicon Valley.
