Earlier this year, on February 24, during a dialogue with young people at the Kuksaroy Residence, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed presentations by the winners of the President Tech Award – Best Startup in Digital Technologies competition. At the meeting, the President emphasized the need to further strengthen support for startup projects and outlined priority areas for young innovators to pursue through new ideas and technological solutions.

In line with the President's initiative, the President Tech Award has entered a new stage of development with a fivefold increase in its prize and investment fund. Under the updated model, $1 million will be allocated as grant funding for promising projects at the incubation stage, while $4 million will be invested in high-potential startups through venture financing.

The new season of the President Tech Award and the launch of the President AI Award were officially presented during the Powering the Startup Ecosystem event held on July 1. The event brought together Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov, international experts, mentors, investors, and representatives of Uzbekistan's startup ecosystem.

Participants were introduced to new initiatives aimed at supporting technology entrepreneurship, accelerating innovative projects, promoting artificial intelligence startups, and creating additional opportunities for young entrepreneurs to develop globally competitive products.

The presentation also highlighted Uzbekistan's rapid progress in developing its startup ecosystem. According to the international StartupBlink ranking, Uzbekistan was named the world's fastest-growing startup ecosystem and recognized as the "Country of the Year" after recording 227.3% growth. Over the past two years, the country has climbed 32 positions in the global ranking, while Tashkent was recognized for the first time as the leading startup hub in Central Asia.

Addressing the audience, Minister Sherzod Shermatov noted that the President Tech Award, launched at the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has become one of the country's flagship platforms for supporting innovative ideas and helping young entrepreneurs bring their startups to international markets.

Since its establishment, the competition has attracted more than 13,000 participants and over 1,800 startup teams. Winning startups have secured more than $10 million in investment and created over 400 new jobs.

For the first time, Uzbekistan also launched the President AI Award, a national competition dedicated exclusively to artificial intelligence technologies. With a total investment fund of $1 million, the initiative is designed to support startups developing AI-based solutions in public administration, industry and entrepreneurship, healthcare, education, the green economy, and agricultural technologies.

A total of 25 startups will be selected to participate in an acceleration program across five priority sectors. Participants will receive mentorship from international experts, refine their products through acceleration programs, present their projects to investors and strategic partners, and prepare for expansion into global markets.

The competition's $1 million investment fund will be distributed among 15 winning startups. In each of the five categories, first-place winners will receive $100,000, second-place winners $60,000, and third-place winners $40,000. Funding will be provided in two stages upon achieving approved key performance indicators (KPIs).

The event concluded with the reaffirmation of Uzbekistan's commitment to enhancing its innovation and artificial intelligence ecosystem, supporting technology startups, and fostering the growth of globally competitive IT companies.

Applications for both the President Tech Award and the President AI Award are now open through the awards.gov.uz portal.