Today, as the world’s top innovation hubs connect the dots to make artificial intelligence mainstream, Georgia’s Business and Technology University (BTU) is carving out its own unique space. Through its partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship and the Orbit platform, BTU’s AI Pre-Acceleration Program has become much more than just an educational initiative, it’s a transformative experience that bridges Georgia’s rising stars to the global AI community.
The program featured AI-based Georgian startups, which had the opportunity to work with both local and international trainers and experts. At the final stage of the program, the startups presented their innovative products and services to a wide audience.
The partnership between BTU and MIT is not only impressive but also a bold statement, and it is highly significant in terms of openly integrating the Georgian ecosystem into global processes. Within the six-week pre-acceleration program implemented by BTU’s Entrepreneurship Center, participating startups deepened their knowledge and worked on refining the skills necessary for building and growing an innovative startup. Moreover, the program fostered the development of their entrepreneurial mindset, helping startups confidently tackle challenges present in the market. As mentioned, another distinctive highlight of the program was its strong international connections — most notably, access to MIT’s new platform – Orbit, at the Martin Trust Center, which offers participants unique opportunities.
“At the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship, we’re committed to advancing entrepreneurship education worldwide. We’re glad that platforms like Orbit and our AI Jetpacks can help empower students and startups across diverse ecosystems, including Georgia. It’s inspiring to see how entrepreneurial leaders are adapting these tools to support innovation in their local contexts.”- Doug Williams, Orbit Product Lead, MIT Martin Trust Center for Entrepreneurship
The heart of the program is its mentors. Selected from Georgia’s own successful startup community, mentors like Tornike Tsiramua and George Mumladze shape the program’s core experience.
For George Mumladze, the mentoring experience has been especially meaningful. “I consider sharing my own experiences — both mistakes and successes — with others to be a crucial part of my work. We shared our experiences with early-stage startups and gave them advice on how to take their first steps quickly and effectively. Moreover, my personal goal was to help the teams develop a ‘winner’s mindset,’ which I find extremely important. In the long term, such a mindset plays a decisive role in shaping their ambitions and leadership skills.”
“Mentoring here means encouraging young Georgian innovators to think big, take bold risks, and embrace the lessons of both wins and setbacks. The energy and growth we’ve seen already are truly motivating,” shares Tornike Tsiramua.
BTU recently held its annual Pre-Accelerator Demo Day, dedicated this year to Artificial Intelligence, which featured six shortlisted startups:
- LakLaka -A Georgian-language AI research and automation platform.
- CLARSEN – International regulatory consulting for financial and regulated sectors.
- Memamule – Agritech solution optimizing crop selection based on soil analysis.
- Ante – Blockchain-based renewable energy trading platform.
- The Article – PropTech platform offering VR-based real estate experiences.
- Starlive – AI-driven video analysis and match broadcasting platform for football
Starlive emerged as the winner, securing a 10,000 GEL grant from BTU to support further development. LakLaka took second place, earning a 3,000 GEL voucher for professional services from an Audit and Accounting company FINO. Additionally, Axel’s investment committee will support Starlive and CLARSEN in preparing investment proposals.
The startups were evaluated by an esteemed jury: Tornike Tsiramua, Davit Tsitskishvili, Eralp Hatipoğlu, and Karina Rubinstein, whose participation was supported by the Embassy of Israel in Georgia. Rubinstein also delivered an insightful keynote, sharing global strategies for attracting investment and advancing technology.
BTU’s Pre-Acceleration Program provides annual opportunities for startups to grow, receive mentorship, and enter the global tech market confidently.
