A Kazakh AI startup is heading to San Francisco. WeGlobal AI placed second in the regional final of Road to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 2026, secured $30,000 in investment funding, and will represent Central Eurasia on a major global startup stage, DKNews.kz reports.
The achievement was announced by the official website of the Astana city administration. For WeGlobal AI, the result marks a major step forward: in 2025, the project tested its solution in public schools in Astana through the Astana Innovations Accelerator, and it is now heading to TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 in the United States.
WeGlobal AI reached the top three from more than 700 applications
Competition was already intense before the regional final.
In 2026, Road to Battlefield received more than 700 applications from 39 countries. Following national selections, 22 startups advanced to the regional final, where an international jury selected the three strongest teams.
WeGlobal AI finished second and became one of three startups chosen to represent the region in San Francisco.
Under the competition rules, the Kazakh team will receive $30,000 in investment funding, a trip to San Francisco for two team members, and exhibition space at TechCrunch Disrupt.
The next stage brings competition with 200 startups
The next round is significantly more competitive.
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 selects 200 promising early-stage startups each year to take part in TechCrunch Disrupt. Participants gain direct access to investors, an international audience and the global technology ecosystem.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will take place in San Francisco on October 13–15.
For WeGlobal AI, this is no longer a regional pitch competition. The team will compete for investor and market attention alongside technology startups selected from around the world.
The platform is already used in more than 2,000 schools
WeGlobal AI develops an AI-powered platform for schools that combines career guidance, analysis of students’ strengths and psychological support tools.
The solution helps specialists organize student data, identify potential risks at an early stage, and support schoolchildren in choosing educational and career paths.
According to the Astana city administration, WeGlobal AI is now deployed in more than 2,000 schools across 13 regions of Kazakhstan.
The platform reaches more than 1.2 million students and 20,000 specialists.
From a school pilot in Astana to the US market
One of the key stages in the project’s development was its participation in Astana Innovations Accelerator 2025.
The program is implemented jointly by the Astana city administration, Astana Innovations JSC and Astana Hub. It is designed to identify and test technology solutions for real urban challenges.
Through the accelerator, the WeGlobal AI team received mentorship and expert support, while the platform was piloted in public schools in Astana.
Working in a real educational environment allowed the team to test the product, gather feedback from users and define the next stages of development.
The platform has been tested in three US schools since May
The move to San Francisco comes as the startup expands internationally.
According to the Astana city administration, WeGlobal AI has been testing its solution in three US schools since May 2026.
The team has also been selected for the StartX program.
We previously reported on how WeGlobal AI was selected for StartX and who is behind the project.
WeGlobal AI is also participating in research on the psychological well-being of schoolchildren together with Oxford University and Nazarbayev University.
The project’s trajectory has therefore moved from a pilot in Astana’s public schools to expansion across Kazakhstan and now to testing in the United States.
San Francisco will be the next test for the Kazakh startup
Participation in Startup Battlefield does not automatically guarantee an investment round or an international contract.
It does, however, put WeGlobal AI on the same stage as global venture funds, technology companies and startups selected by TechCrunch.
The history of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield includes projects such as Dropbox, Cloudflare, Discord and Trello, which later grew into globally recognized technology companies.
For WeGlobal AI, the path to this stage began much closer to home — with a pilot in Astana schools.
The next milestone is TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 13–15, where the Kazakh project will appear as one of the 200 startups in Startup Battlefield 200.
