Widgera Crowned Startup World Cup Regional 2026 Champion
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Tbilisi successfully hosted Startup World Cup Regional 2026, bringing together some of the most promising startups, investors, founders, and innovation leaders from across the Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and beyond.
The competition began with the Semi-Finals, where selected startups pitched in front of an international panel of judges, including Berthold Baurek-Karlic (Venionaire Capital AG), Haytham El-Azaizy (Intuito VC), Sameer Sortur (SquareCircle Ventures), Aditya Kathpalia (Orbit Ventures), Indica Amarasinghe (Startup Grind Doha), and Ivaylo Ivanov (Founder Institute CEE)
Following the Semi-Finals, judges provided direct feedback and recommendations to the finalists, helping them refine their presentations and strengthen their value propositions ahead of the final round.
The Regional Finals took place on the main stage of Global Tech Weekend Tbilisi, where finalists returned to pitch before a new panel of internationally recognized judging panel, consisting of Bill Reichert (Pegasus Tech Ventures), Ron Weissman (Angel Capital Association), Avigail Menashe, Aleksandra Adamowicz-Hesselroth (Business Angel), Berthold Baurek-Karlic (Venionaire Capital AG), and Aditya Kathpalia (Orbit Ventures).
After extensive deliberation, Widgera was named the Startup World Cup Regional 2026 Champion. Widgera is a Human – AI native OS that transforms traditional retailers into AI-native organizations.
Widgera will now represent Georgia and the wider region at the Startup World Cup Global Finals in Silicon Valley this November, where it will compete against leading startups from around the world for a chance to win a $1,000,000 investment prize.
Startup World Cup Regional 2026 once again demonstrated the growing strength of the region's innovation ecosystem and its ability to produce globally competitive startups capable of attracting international attention and investment.
The event was organized with the support of a strong network of ecosystem partners. Supporting partners included Bank of Georgia Business,Georgia's Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA), Global Tech Weekend Tbilisi, Nexia, Terminal, and Teliani Valley. The event's media partner was Entrepreneur Georgia.
