On June 15, Caucasus University hosted the Startup pre-acceleration program CUnicorn Demo Day, organized by Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center.
During the event, participating startups presented their innovative solutions and business ideas to a panel of judges, industry experts, investors, partners, and invited guests.
The following startups took part in the Demo Day: Opti, Flexi, Hatch, Kan-Guroo, Kere, StudOrga, SwipeSights, and AI Sakhli.
The event was officially opened by Kakha Shengelia, President of Caucasus University. Welcome remarks were also delivered by Avtandil Kasradze, Chairman of Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA); Irena Melua, Vice President for Internationalization at Caucasus University; and Irakli Svanidze, Acting Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. Speakers highlighted the importance of universities in fostering innovation, supporting entrepreneurship, and empowering the next generation of startup founders.
The startup pitches were evaluated by a distinguished jury consisting of:
- Kakha Shengelia – President, Caucasus University
- Avtandil Kasradze – Chairman, Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA)
- Iro Tsagareishvili – Director, Axel
- Zhou Jiuqiang（Johnny – Director of Government and Enterprise Business, Huawei Georgia
- Giorgi Kintsurashvili – Ecosystem Innovation Lead, TBC Bank
At the end of the competition, the winning teams were announced:
- 1st Place – Opti
- 2nd Place – Flexi
- 3rd Place – Kere
All three winning teams received cash prizes awarded by Caucasus University.
In addition, Huawei presented a special prize to the first-place winner, Opti, awarding the team Huawei smartwatches.
Several partner organizations also announced special awards and opportunities for participating startups:
TBC Bank introduced an initiative that provides startups with access to API-powered financial infrastructure through partnerships with leading startup programs in Georgia. This support is designed to help early-stage companies build and launch their MVPs on a more secure and scalable foundation.
Global Tech Weekend Tbilisi 2026 offered a unique opportunity to the top three teams, giving them the chance to showcase their startups on the GTW 2026 stage and connect with a broader network of investors, founders, and technology leaders.
IT Academy STEP selected Hatch as its favorite team and awarded each team member a GEL 500 educational voucher to support their professional development.
Analog AI selected StudOrga as its chosen team and awarded the startup GEL 5,000 worth of credits for access to large language model (LLM) infrastructure and AI development tools, enabling faster product development and experimentation.
Insight Out also selected StudOrga as its favorite team and awarded a comprehensive customer research package. The support includes business needs assessment, research design, hypothesis testing with 200 validated respondents, and actionable market insights to help the startup strengthen its product-market fit.
The event concluded with an award ceremony and a networking session.
Demo Day was hosted by Kerry Slaterry, International Partnerships Specialist at the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at George Washington University (GWU).
Now in its sixth batch, CUnicorn continues to support aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage startups by helping them refine their ideas, validate their solutions, and prepare for future growth.
Special thanks to the program’s supporters and partners: George Washington University Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA), Huawei, TBC Bank, Axel, Global Tech Weekend Tbilisi 2026, IT Academy STEP, Analog AI, Insight Out, and Efes.
