DOMiNO Ventures to Invest $50 Million in Startup Development in Uzbekistan
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 23 July, a meeting was held between Timur Khusanov, Director of the Department for Analysis, Support, and Coordination of State Policy on Small and Medium Business Development at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Dilshod Khashimov, CEO of the National Venture Fund "UzVC", with the managing partners of the international venture capital firm DOMiNO Ventures (Netherlands), Mustafa Kopyuk and Yagiz Karadeniz. The talks focused on the prospects for developing Uzbekistan’s startup ecosystem and attracting foreign investment.
DOMiNO Ventures is one of the most active players in the regional venture market, operating in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, as well as in Europe and Türkiye. Over the past five years, the startup ecosystem in these countries has shown steady growth: the number of startups has increased 4.5 times, exceeding 4,500, while venture deal volume in 2024 reached $120 million.
During the meeting, DOMiNO Ventures representatives presented their ongoing initiatives and plans to further strengthen the regional startup landscape. Special emphasis was placed on the "BetterFuture AI Acceleration" program, designed to support startups in the field of artificial intelligence.
The guests were also introduced to successful Uzbek projects that have already received funding from the fund, including:
— Tass Vision – an AI-powered video analytics system;
— PointAi – a digital solution for the e-commerce sector;
— Datatruck – a logistics optimization platform for freight transportation.
The representatives of the company reaffirmed their intention to invest $50 million in the region over the next five years and to fund more than 20 startups with a total investment of approximately $100 million.
As a result of the negotiations, the parties agreed to launch joint programs between DOMiNO Ventures and the UzVC fund. They also agreed to establish knowledge and expertise exchange in order to foster the sustainable development of Uzbekistan’s startup ecosystem.