30/04/2025
In April 2025, the national venture fund of Uzbekistan — IT Park Ventures, established under the Ministry of Digital Technologies and IT Park Uzbekistan, held a series of high-level meetings in Silicon Valley (USA) aimed at expanding international cooperation, integrating startups into global ecosystems and promoting Uzbekistan as one of the centers of technological growth in Central Eurasia.
The program covered San Francisco, Palo Alto, San Mateo, and Fremont, and was organized with the assistance of the Silkroad Innovation Hub, a key partner of the foundation founded by Asror Arabzhanov and Asset Abdualiev, Stanford University graduates from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan who play a crucial role in strengthening ties between Central Eurasia and the United States.
Alchemist Accelerator, Draper University, SkyStone Games, StartX, One Way Ventures, Jeff Kabili, Central Eurasian Founders Mixer, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: investments, acceleration, global partnerships
Alchemist Accelerator (San Francisco)
One of the most recognized B2B accelerators in the world, focused on deeptech and enterprise solutions. It was founded in 2012 and is supported by funds from Khosla Ventures, DFJ, Cisco and others. Rigetti Computing and LaunchDarkly are among the graduates.
During the meeting, a memorandum of partnership was signed, providing for the launch of a joint acceleration program for startups from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan with the participation of IT Park Uzbekistan and Astana Hub within the framework of the Central Asian Innovation Hubs alliance, as well as the formation of a joint investment pipeline and the holding of bilateral demo days.
Draper University (San Mateo)
is an educational platform for startups founded by Tim Draper, a legendary investor in Tesla, SpaceX, Skype and Hotmail. Over 4,000 graduates from 100+ countries.
An agreement was reached to support the participation of Uzbek and Kazakh founders in the Hero Training Program in October 2025, the localization of DraperU educational programs for startups and investors in Uzbekistan, and joint events within the framework of ICT Week Uzbekistan 2025.
SkyStone Games (Palo Alto)
Is an American video game publisher and co-developer founded by industry veterans Bill Wang (Perfect World) and Jeff Pobst (Hidden Path Entertainment). The company specializes in midcore and indie games and is active in the US, Asian and European markets.
The opening of a regional office in Uzbekistan, joint investments and participation in ICT Week Uzbekistan 2025 were discussed. The fund provided tax and visa benefits, as well as opportunities for localization and distribution of products in the CIS and MENA markets.
StartX (Palo Alto)
The Stanford Accelerator, established in 2010. One of the strongest founder's networks, where startups have collectively raised more than $26 billion. The uniqueness of StartX is the focus on founders, not on shared profits.
Together with IT Park Ventures, bootcamp for startups from the region in Uzbekistan, a co-investment track, investor training programs and a special session Uzbekistan x StartX at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 will be launched.
One Way Ventures (Palo Alto / Boston)
A fund that invests exclusively in startups founded by immigrants. The portfolio includes Brex, Momentus, and Chipper Cash. The foundation is led by Evgeny Malobrodsky, a serial entrepreneur and co—founder of AnchorFree.
The exchange of pipeline startups, the holding of the Founder Immersion Program during TechCrunch, as well as the foundation's participation in ICT Week Uzbekistan and mentoring support for the diaspora were discussed.
Jeff Kabili (Palo Alto)
Former Director of Development at Stanford Graduate School of Business, coach of storytelling and pitching at Draper University and Plug and Play Tech Center.
He will conduct a training bootcamp in Uzbekistan on storytelling and investment communication for startups from Central Eurasia, as well as sessions for the finalists of the pitch day at ICT Week and a workshop for the IT Park Ventures team.
Tesla Factory (Fremont)
A visit to one of the largest industrial facilities in Silicon Valley allowed the IT Park Ventures delegation to gain an understanding of the scaling of robotics and AI solutions.
The prospects of integrating startups from Central Eurasia into global production chains and preparing for compliance and certification requirements were discussed.
Finale of the visit: IT Park Ventures as a bridge between the Diaspora, Uzbekistan and the global venture capital market
The final focus of the visit was the Central Eurasian Founders Mixer in Palo Alto, organized by the Silkroad Innovation Hub with the participation of IT Park Ventures, IT Park Uzbekistan and the Agency for Youth Affairs. The event brought together more than 100 founders, investors and partners from Central Eurasia and the United States, demonstrating the growing interest in Uzbekistan as a new center for venture development.
Azamat Karamatov, CEO of IT Park Ventures, presented the country's investment opportunities and stressed that the fund is open to supporting startups founded by representatives of the Uzbek diaspora abroad. The foundation's goal is to become a platform connecting Tashkent, Central Eurasia and Silicon Valley.
Today, IT Park Ventures has 7 startups in its portfolio, including Datatruck, a logistics SaaS startup registered in Texas and founded by a founder of Uzbek origin. The Fund invested $250,000 in the SAFE project at an estimated cost of $10 million. The startup is actively developing in the US and developing countries, offering solutions for fleet automation and logistics.
The Uzbekistan Connect initiative, a program for involving the Uzbek diaspora through investments, mentoring and integration visits, was also presented during the meeting. The program includes:
up to $10,000/year of support for diaspora projects;
visits to Uzbekistan and participation in strategic tracks;
access to the fund's infrastructure and international partners.
“IT Park Ventures is not just a fund, it is an infrastructure of trust and movement. We connect talents, capital, and opportunities on both sides of the ocean — between Uzbekistan, Central Eurasia, and the United States, between the diaspora and the homeland, between an idea and investment. Our goal is for Uzbek founders, wherever they are, to feel that they have a place to come with a world—class project — and where to start scaling from.” — Azamat Karamatov, CEO, IT Park Ventures
Next steps: A two-week program in the USA with participation in TechCrunch Disrupt 2025
IT Park Ventures, IT Park Uzbekistan, Astana Hub and Silkroad Innovation Hub invite startups, investors, representatives of the diaspora and ecosystem partners to participate in the official delegation of Uzbekistan and Central Eurasia at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, which will be held on October 28-30 in San Francisco - one of the largest technological events in the world.
The program of the visit is designed for two weeks and includes not only participation in the conference, but also a set of events aimed at diving into the US venture ecosystem, finding partners and understanding the conditions for entering the market.
Key elements of the program:
The Founder Immersion Program is an educational and strategic track for 10-15 selected startups, investors, and ecosystem representatives.
- The program focuses on familiarizing with the US market, scaling requirements, transaction structure, requirements for founders and product, as well as building real ways to enter the American market.;
- Showcase IT Park Ventures x Stanford is a joint session with StartX aimed at promoting startups in the region;
- VC–Startup Matchmaking, meetings with international investors and partners;
- Visits to leading foundations, accelerators and technology companies, including Google, Salesforce, Draper, Plug and Play Tech Center;
- Mentoring, strategic events and meetings with the Uzbek diaspora in Silicon Valley.
📍 On the part of the organizers, participants are provided with:
– Free ticket (3-Day Full Access Pass) for TechCrunch Disrupt 2025;
– access to the full two-week program, including visits, business meetings, mentoring sessions and specialized events.
📍 All expenses for flights, visas, accommodation and meals are covered by the participants themselves.
The number of places is limited, the selection is based on the profile and compliance with the objectives of the program.
Registration: https://forms .gle/2pDFrZeRMgRtU2Vs6
On issues of participation, partnership and program cooperation:
Zaynab Atabaeva, Investment Manager, IT Park Ventures
Telegram username: zaynab_atabaeva
Email: z.atabaeva@itparkventures.uz
IT Park Ventures is the state venture fund of Uzbekistan, established in December, 2024 on the basis of Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 357. Established under the Ministry of Digital Technologies and IT Park Uzbekistan, the fund has an authorized capital of $10 million and is focused on the development of the startup ecosystem as one of the priority areas of economic growth.
Key objectives of the fund:
- financing of start-ups at the pre-seed and seed stages;
- scaling support for teams from Uzbekistan and Central Eurasian countries;
- development of international partnership and involvement of the Diaspora;
- integration into global acceleration and venture networks.
Since its foundation, the fund:
- Has held more than 30 meetings with international investors, accelerators and corporations.;
- Has pre-selected over 150 startups and held meetings with more than 50 of them.;
- Has formed a portfolio of 7 projects, including Datatruck, a technology startup in the field of logistics, registered in Texas and founded by a founder of Uzbek origin.
IT Park Ventures acts not only as a source of financing, but also as an institutional bridge between Uzbekistan and global markets. The Fund provides access to acceleration programs, mentoring, corporate partners, and international investment platforms.
