From the Yoshlar Ventures channel.
For the first time in Uzbekistan's history, a venture fund has started investing in hardware startups together with a university. Nothing like it had ever happened in our country.
In partnership with the Youth Affairs Agency, Turin Polytechnic University, Yoshlar Ventures and UzCombinator, we launched the "TechCombinator" accelerator programme - the first accelerator programme for hardware startups in Uzbekistan.
For years, when people heard the word "startup" they thought of apps, websites or online platforms. Now we've chosen a different road. This time it's about young people building microchips, drones, robotics and real hardware - products you can hold, see, and that can change the world.
For 40 days we worked side by side with the startup founders. Together we learned how to fit a product to market demand, how to talk to customers properly, and how to turn a simple idea into a serious business.
And in the process, together with Turin Polytechnic University, we agreed to invest US$160,000.
Why does all this matter?
Because our goal is not a modest one. We want to create unicorns in deep tech and defence tech. We want technology brands recognised by the world to come out of our country. And today we took the very first step on that long road.
This is only the beginning.
Yoshlar Ventures - you create, we give wings!
