Among them, a jury consisting of industry experts and investors selected three winners: IoVIT was awarded as the "Most Innovative Startup," SkillSat received the "High Value for Humanity" award, and Orbital Express was recognized for "Future Space Exploration." The winners shared a prize fund of $15,000 equally.

Abylaykhan Mukhamedzhanov, founder and CEO of SkillSat, shared, "Our startup specializes in educational kits for assembling and launching small devices, specifically nanosatellites. The idea came to me after my first trip to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in 2019, where I developed a fascination for robotics. We have eagerly awaited the Space Tech Battle, as hardware startups utilizing their own electronics and technologies have often remained overlooked. I'm pleased that the plans of Astana Hub and MCRIAP materialized into such an event, and I hope it continues while also giving rise to SpaceTech accelerators."

Additionally, the forum included the Silkway Accelerator Pitch Marathon, where six startups (BILLZ, Kid Security, Trust Contract, Prosper Pay, Codify, Voiceloft) presented their projects to investors and representatives of large corporations and venture funds. These startups were participants in the joint acceleration program of Astana Hub and Google for Startups.

Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of Astana Hub, emphasized, "Space Tech is a priority area of activity for Astana Hub. I express my gratitude to the forum organizers and all involved for providing us with the opportunity to hold the Space Tech Battle for the first time and organize the Silkway Accelerator Pitch Marathon. It presents an excellent chance for young companies to showcase themselves."

The Central Eurasian Venture Forum took place in Almaty on June 2, encompassing the entire Central Eurasia region. The event was primarily organized by the MOST holding and the Singaporean investment platform Investbanq (Paladigm Capital).

The Space Tech Battle and Silkway Accelerator Pitch Marathon were organized in partnership by the international technopark Astana Hub, the Ministry of Digital Development and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Inspirations.

According to preliminary data, the forum witnessed the participation of over 400 startups and 600 individual investors, representing venture funds and corporations. During the speed meetings between investors and startups, startup battles, and negotiations, the startups informed the organizers that they secured a total of $8 million in investments for their projects in the initial stage, surpassing last year's record of $5 million.

Participants of the Space Tech Battle included:

• NU Rover: A project aimed at building the first Martian rover in Central Asia.
• SkillSat: Educational kits allowing students to assemble their own nanosatellites and launch them into the stratosphere.
• Black Aerospace: A mobile rocket complex of the ultra-light class for deploying micro and nanosatellites into orbit.
• IoVIT: Internet of Vital Things, providing affordable and reliable communication with remote equipment that performs crucial functions such as strategic infrastructure, logistics, and production control.
• Spaceborn: Developing a new generation of space launch technologies.
• Orbital display: A global channel for transmitting visual information and data from space.
• Orbital Express: Space transportation and orbital services.
• ExoMach: Developing robots to replace humans in hazardous conditions.
• LorelAi: An integrated artificial intelligence-based solution for psychological support and conflict resolution in space flights.
• Mantis is a proprietary network of ground stations with an online platform that operates 24/7, without weekends, for direct data collection from remote sensing satellites.