ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026 opens in Tashkent with record international turnout

ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026 opens in Tashkent with record international turnout

ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026, the country’s biggest technology event, opened today at the Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) complex and will continue through September 25, bringing together international and local IT companies, investors, startups, government bodies, and representatives of the global tech sector.

This year’s edition has significantly broadened its international reach. Organizers expect attendees from more than 70 countries and over 25,000 visitors, including about 2,000 guests from abroad. The exhibition will present solutions from more than 200 organizations, while the business program will feature over 200 speakers and experts.

National pavilions will highlight companies and technology organizations from the United States, China, Japan, Georgia, Oman, Turkey, Tajikistan, and other countries. International companies and local startups will also showcase their products and solutions throughout the week.

In recent years, ICTWEEK has grown from an industry trade fair into an international platform for discussing venture investment, IT services exports, the entry of international companies into Uzbekistan, startup growth, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, outsourcing, and digital infrastructure. The four-day business program includes major summits, forums, conferences, technology contests, and pitch sessions.

The event begins with an official opening ceremony and a tour of the ICT Expo 2026 exhibition.

The Startup & Venture Summit will gather startup founders, investors, venture funds, accelerators, corporations, and government representatives to discuss the development of the startup ecosystem, attracting investment, scaling globally, and helping tech companies enter international markets.

The same day will also feature the Uzbek–Japan Digital Community Forum, bringing together government officials, tech companies, investors, and innovation ecosystem representatives from both countries to focus on digital cooperation, investment projects, and opportunities for companies from both nations to enter new markets. Over the past two years, the number of Japanese companies with IT Park resident status has increased from 2 to 25, and the forum is expected to build on that progress by strengthening direct ties between businesses, investors, and tech organizations from both countries.

The second day opens with the Enterprise Uzbekistan Summit, which will focus on positioning Uzbekistan as an emerging technology jurisdiction. Discussions will center on legal certainty, institutional infrastructure, and the conditions required to attract international tech companies and investment. The program includes remarks from Enterprise Uzbekistan representatives, keynote speeches by EY and BDO experts, a fireside chat with IT Park Uzbekistan and Enterprise Uzbekistan, and a panel titled "Rethinking Jurisdictions for the Global Technology Economy."

Panelists will explore why international companies are choosing to operate in Uzbekistan, how responsibilities are distributed among key institutions in the ecosystem, and what regulatory conditions are necessary to support the growth of the tech economy.

The day also includes the OTS Technology Forum and the Tech & Service Outsourcing Conference, where international companies and industry experts will discuss the expansion of IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO), global business services (GBS), and service centers in Uzbekistan. In the first half of 2026, 608 export-oriented companies joined IT Park — a 178% increase compared with the same period last year. IT Park residents now export IT services and digital products to 102 countries.

A session titled "AI Threats to Education & Employment" will look at the impact of artificial intelligence on education, professional skills, and the labor market. Representatives from Amazon Web Services, Coursera, iFlytek, Alibaba Cloud, and OX Group will discuss cloud infrastructure for AI projects, multilingual AI models, AI model-as-a-service offerings, business process automation, and preparing workers for future jobs. One of the day’s headline events is the Global Startup Ecosystem Awards 2026, organized by StartupBlink in partnership with IT Park Uzbekistan. For the first time in its history, the ceremony will be held in person — and Uzbekistan will be the first country to host it.

StartupBlink named Uzbekistan its 2026 Country of the Year; the country climbed 19 places this year to rank 79th globally, while Tashkent rose 121 positions to 229th, making it Central Asia’s highest-ranked startup city.

Another major highlight of the day is the regional final of the Startup World Cup 2026. Fifteen selected tech startups will present their products, business models, market potential, and growth strategies to investors and international experts. The competing projects cover artificial intelligence, fintech, SaaS, deep tech, consumer technology, and other areas. The winner will represent Uzbekistan at the global final in San Francisco and compete for a $1 million investment prize.

The Startup World Cup is organized by Silicon Valley-based Pegasus Tech Ventures, which manages more than $2 billion in assets and has a portfolio of over 300 investments, including 88 exits and 29 IPOs.

Since 2017, the Startup World Cup platform has brought together more than 50,000 participants, 2,500 investors, and 500 speakers across more than 100 regional competitions worldwide.

The Tashkent final will also include a Speed-Dating session with 40 meeting tables, giving startups the opportunity to connect directly with investors and potential partners, pitch their projects, and explore cooperation opportunities.

The regional final is organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures and Don't Settle, in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Technologies, IT Park Uzbekistan, and IT Park Ventures. The same day will also host the Uzbekistan–Middle East Tech Summit, focused on technology and investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and Middle Eastern countries, as well as SABRIYA, a platform devoted to women’s entrepreneurship and leadership in the tech sector. Participants and invited experts will discuss women’s role in the digital economy, the growth of women-led tech companies, and opportunities for launching new ventures.

The final day is devoted to cloud computing, artificial intelligence, startups, and the gaming industry.

AWS Community Day Uzbekistan will bring together more than 500 developers, cloud specialists, and tech enthusiasts, with more than 15 speakers on the agenda, including Amazon Web Services Vice President and Chief Evangelist Jeff Barr. Technical sessions will cover serverless computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Bedrock, containers, DevOps, cybersecurity, and modern cloud architecture.

The day also includes the Ignyte AI Challenge 2026, the GameGap gaming industry event, and a special edition of the TAQDIMOT startup showcase, organized by AloqaVentures. As part of TAQDIMOT, selected startups will present their products and business models to investors and venture fund representatives, receive expert feedback, and explore possible investment and partnership opportunities.

ICTWEEK’s expanding international profile reflects a broader trend: Uzbekistan’s deeper integration into the global technology economy. For foreign companies, the country is emerging not only as a growing market in its own right, but also as a possible base for expansion across Central Asia.

For Uzbek companies, ICTWEEK provides direct access to international clients, investors, and technology partners — connections that could become a springboard for raising capital, signing export contracts, and entering new markets.

The meeting point of capital and promising projects, of international demand and local expertise, of global companies and regional opportunity, has become one of the central themes of ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026.

ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026 runs from September 22 to 25 at the Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) in Tashkent.

The official program and registration are available at www.ictweek.uz.