Elpis Labs 2025 Wrap-Up: A Year of Global Bridges, Bold Founders, and Real-World Momentum

As 2025 comes to an end, we’re taking a moment to look back at a year that moved fast — across continents, industries, and time zones. What defined this year for Elpis Labs wasn’t just the number of programs or events we ran. It was the feeling that international expansion is no longer a theoretical conversation for founders; it’s something they can do today, with the right partners and data, and in the right rooms.

Across the U.S., Korea, Central Asia, Latin America, and Europe, we worked with people who believe in building beyond borders. Here are the highlights that shaped 2025.

Korean Deeptech Takes the Stage in New York

This year, we hosted two full KSC Deeptech 2025 cohorts in New York City, bringing together Korea’s most ambitious deeptech founders for a U.S.-focused soft-landing experience.

Each cohort spent weeks refining their market-entry strategies, navigating U.S. legal frameworks, elevating investor storytelling, and meeting with accelerators and corporate innovation leaders. Both programs concluded with high-energy Demo Days — not as graduation ceremonies, but as launch moments where teams presented ready-to-activate market plans and new partnerships.

We also co-hosted the Global Investors Bridge in NYC, creating an environment where Korean founders could speak directly with American investors and industry leaders about traction, risks, timing, and the realities of entering the U.S. market. These weren’t pitch-only conversations; they were genuine strategy sessions that sparked new collaborations and long-term relationships.

Uzbekistan Emerges as a Global Innovation Player

2025 marked a major step forward in our work with Uzbekistan’s fast-growing startup ecosystem.

Early in the year, we released an updated Uzbekistan Startup Landscape 2025 report, providing a comprehensive view of funding growth, talent dynamics, and emerging technology sectors. It quickly became one of the most referenced pieces of analysis in our network for anyone exploring Central Asia.

Our team was invited by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and municipal leadership in Tashkent for a dedicated exploration trip focused on building bridges with New York. That visit led to new partnerships, new insights, and a clearer vision of the opportunities ahead.

Later in the year, we had the honor of hosting an Uzbek innovation delegation at Civic Hall in New York City, organizing roundtables, industry sessions, and deep-dive conversations with local investors, tech operators, and policymakers.

We also joined a high-level U.S.–Central Asia dialogue in Washington, D.C., contributing to conversations with regional delegations and the President of Uzbekistan on how to expand economic cooperation and innovation exchange.

The message across these touchpoints was consistent: Central Asia is not "up-and-coming" — it is already here.

Latin America on the Move: Chile → New York → Miami

This year also brought a new wave of international talent into our ecosystem through the Startup Biobío + Endeavor Chile delegation tour in New York and Miami.

Together, we joined founders exploring:

• U.S. market fit

• early investor pipelines

• corporate innovation opportunities

• legal and operational readiness

• and the real-world expectations of American customers

It was hands-on, intense, and grounded in truth. Founders met with venture firms, visited corporate partners, and heard real stories from leaders who have built — and failed — in the U.S. market. The goal wasn’t inspiration; it was clarity. And clarity is what accelerates expansion.

Data, Insights & Signals From the Ecosystem

Beyond events and programs, a major part of our 2025 work was helping organizations make faster, more informed decisions about global growth.

This year, we published research and thought leadership on:

• the “funding leap” happening in Uzbekistan and its fast-evolving capital landscape;

• how corporates and CVCs are shifting from innovation theatre to real commercialization partnerships patterns we see among international founders who successfully enter the U.S.;

• and what global ecosystems can learn from NYC’s approach to soft-landing support

Our goal remains the same: offer practical, evidence-based insights that founders, governments, and corporate partners can use immediately.

A Global Community That Made the Year Possible

Across 2025, we had the privilege of working with:

• founders from Korea, Chile, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Canada, Spain, and the U.S.

• corporate partners exploring cross-border pilots

• investors searching for overlooked talent

• government teams designing smarter internationalization programs

• mentors and operators who showed up for every workshop, review, and late-night call

  
  

No matter where you joined us — New York, Seoul, Santiago, Tashkent, Miami, Toronto, Zurich — you shaped the year with your questions, your ambition, and your readiness to build beyond comfort zones.

Looking Ahead to 2026

Next year, we’re doubling down on what worked — and scaling it.

In 2026, Elpis Labs will continue to:

• run high-impact soft-landing and accelerator programs

• support governments and public agencies in designing expansion pathways

• help corporations and CVCs connect with the right founders and technologies

• and strengthen our research capabilities with more regional and sector-specific analyses

If 2025 was about proving that global bridges can be built, 2026 will be about expanding them together.

Thank You

To every founder, partner, investor, and friend who trusted us this year — thank you. Your energy is the reason our work feels meaningful.

Wherever you are in the world, we wish you a peaceful holiday season and a bold, healthy, and opportunity-filled 2026.

Elpis Labs Team