At the international forum Digital Bridge 2025 in Astana, the region’s largest startup battle — Astana Hub Battle — was held. This year the competition featured 180 IT companies from Central Eurasia, with a total prize pool of US$125,000.
79 projects advanced to the semi-finals, with 14 reaching the finals. They were joined by the AI Sana Generative Pitch winner — the TrustExam AI startup.
Winners and categories
The best projects were named across seven categories, five of which received cash prizes of $25,000:
- Best Social Impact — WeGlobal.AI, building career-orientation solutions for schoolchildren.
- Discovery of the Year — MindShield, supporting early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
- Exponential Growth — winner TrustExam AI, fighting academic fraud.
- Ticket to the Future — Moon.AI, building an AI operating system for SMBs.
- MA7 Award — Mirai Tech, wearable sensors for sport and rehabilitation.
In addition, MacDent received a special grant from Kazakhtelecom, and flection.ai won the Yandex Qazaqstan Startup Spotlight award.
Significance for the region
Astana Hub head Magzhan Madiyev noted that such events confirm the high potential of IT entrepreneurs in Central Eurasia. According to him, the region’s startups are already creating competitive solutions in AI, healthcare, education, and fintech.
Context
Astana Hub Battle targets teams with finished products at MVP or PMF stages. In 2025 applications came from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, as well as Russia, the US, and the UAE.
The Digital Bridge 2025 forum is held with the support of Freedom Bank Kazakhstan, Kaspi.kz, Yandex Qazaqstan, Kazakhtelecom, and other partners.
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