Cyprus’ startup ecosystem took a step onto the global stage as Calspak emerged winner of the Startup World Cup Cyprus Regional Finals 2025.

The company will represent the island at the Grand Finale in San Francisco on October 17, where a $1 million investment prize awaits.

The finals, held at BrainRocket in Limassol, attracted founders, investors and ecosystem leaders for a full day of live startup pitches, expert panels and networking.

The regional competition forms part of the global Startup World Cup series organised by Pegasus Tech Ventures, with local operations led by Aivitam Ventures and The Future Media acting as official media partner.

Ioannis Koureas, COO and co-founder of Calspak, which develops sustainable calcium carbonate technologies for industrial and pharmaceutical use, described the experience as unforgettable, expressing gratitude for the chance to showcase the team’s work on an international stage.

Opening the event, Cyprus’ Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology, Demetris Skourides, referred to recent data showing the country outpacing much of Europe in startup ecosystem growth.

He said Cyprus recorded a 28.2 per cent growth rate in just one year, the highest in the EU, while Limassol was ranked fifth in Europe and eighth globally as a blockchain hub.

A keynote address by Uri Levine, co-founder of Waze and author of Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution, urged founders to embrace failure as an essential part of entrepreneurship.

He pointed out that avoiding failure meant failing to try at all and underlined the importance of learning quickly from setbacks.

Three panel discussions examined Cyprus’ innovation potential from different perspectives. The first, titled Made in Cyprus: How to Make Cyprus a Leader in the Startup Ecosystem,

featured speakers from Invest Cyprus, Crowdbase, Panis.News and BrainRocket, who explored what it would take for the island to compete globally.

A second session, Funding the Future: AI Edition, brought together investors from 33East Venture Capital, Data Mining Technologies and Mellow to discuss opportunities and challenges in artificial intelligence.

The third panel, Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: The Startup Experience, focused on resilience, mindset and support systems, with founders from Bungálow 28, W11 Ventures, Malloc and Verv Group sharing their insights.

From 83 applications, nine startups were selected to pitch live at the finals. The participants included XONO, Aiuta, SpesLab, Algebras AI, AIVOTAR, Realytics, RELOC8 ONLINE, Prorok.io and Calspak.

The jury consisted of representatives from W11 Ventures, ICLUB Global, 33East Venture Capital, Kinisis Ventures, Invest Cyprus, Aivitam Ventures and Cybergizer.

Yuriy Romanyukha of ICLUB Global described the 2025 finals as a clear maturity leap, pointing to stronger execution, broader sector coverage and founders with global experience.

He highlighted Calspak’s patented low-carbon cement formulation, Realytics’ zero-integration retail analytics, and platforms such as AIUTA and RELOC8 ONLINE, which were productising traditionally human-intensive sectors. He also noted momentum in RegTech, vertical AI and localised FinTech platforms.

Yiannis Eftychiou of 33East Venture Capital considered the event a strong signal of Cyprus’ growing maturity as an innovation hub and said the atmosphere was focused on product development and traction.

He added that the finalists demonstrated how Cyprus could become a producer of innovation and an exporter of technology.

On FinTech specifically, he referred to the island’s engineering talent, back-office infrastructure and regulatory stability, citing Cyprus-based Finom, the SME neo-bank that recently closed a financing round of €115 million, as a key example.

Calspak secured the top prize and a place at the San Francisco finale. An Audience Favourite Award, sponsored by SendPulse and determined through live voting, went to RELOC8 ONLINE, which received a $5,000 prize.

Dmitry Dosov of Aivitam Ventures said this year’s finals underscored progress in the ecosystem. He mentioned that 83 applications had been narrowed down to ten finalists and described the ideas as sharper, the founders more prepared and the quality of execution stronger than before.

He also announced the upcoming launch of Future Labs, a new investment initiative designed to support founders beyond traditional funding models.

Supported by partners including Mellow, Dream Play, Invest Cyprus, the Research and Innovation Foundation, SOFTSWISS, Cybergizer and BrainRocket, the event highlighted Cyprus’ ambition to compete internationally.