Digital Startups Week Has Commenced!

On December 2, IT Park Uzbekistan launched the Digital Startups Week. The series of events began with the Demo Day President Tech Award, where 54 startup teams competed for a spot in the finals, presenting their innovative ideas.

The event was opened with a welcoming address by Olimjon Umarov, the First Deputy Minister of Digital Technologies and was supported by Plug and Play as the event’s partner.  

A total of 54 teams showcased their startups to an esteemed panel of experts from leading companies. By the end of the day, the jury selected 15 outstanding teams — three from each category — to advance to the finals.

In the category “AI-Based Technologies”, the startups were evaluated by Tsovinar Sofi Babayan, mentor and coach at Impact Hub Yerevan; Roman Dyakonov, Data Management Director at Click; and Anna Andreeva, Team Lead and Senior ML Engineer at Aiphoria. The selected finalists are Speaklish, TASS Vision, and Cradle.

For the category “Digital Technologies in the Social Sector”, the jury included Yaroslav Dudko, consultant and mentor, manager at 300brains.com; Mikhail Tsarev, professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Director of the Research Center; and Dmitry Grebenyuk, Co-Founder of the School of Digital Transformation Leadership. The finalists are BRAILLE RECOGNITION, Onlayn Hamshira, and Stepogram.

In the “Computer and Mobile Games” category, the evaluation was conducted by Lars Vestergard, Venture Partner at InvenioGrowth; Firdavs Mamadkhonov, CEO and founder of Doomers Entertainment; and Valentin Tsaranov, Head of the Art Department at EVEGOPLAYON Studio. The finalists include Grimoire Entertainment, Gale-Force Entertainment, and Fazliddin Games.

In the category “Technological Solutions in Micro-SaaS and AdTech”, the jury consisted of Darko Dujic, Partner at WeTeh; Ulug‘bek Artikov, Executive Director at TechPro DC; and Hikmat Abdurakhmanov, Co-Founder of Team University. Advancing to the finals are OYGUL, StudentHunter, and EduTizim.

The category “Entrepreneurship and Financial Technologies” was judged by Martin Metodiev Gikov, Co-Founder of FINGROW and Chairman of the Board at the European Investment Fund; Saidakhror Burkhanov, former Vice President of JP Morgan Japan; and Dmitry Saava, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at STAN Advisory. The finalists in this category are Sug‘urta Bozor, Jobster, and diip.uz. 

Teams that did not qualify to the finals will receive comprehensive feedback from Plug and Play experts, providing valuable insights to refine and enhance their startups.

The grand finale of the competition is set to take place on December 7. The winners will be selected by the jury, competing for investments. The total prize fund amounts to $900,000.

Moreover, the Digital Startups Week will feature the launch of the GameDevHQ Academy in Uzbekistan, the inauguration of IT Park Ventures, and the presentation of the Digital Startups program.