Azerbaijan's startup ecosystem in 2026
In 2026, the estimated value of Azerbaijan's startup ecosystem amounted to 589.9 million US dollars.
According to the 2026 Global Startup Ecosystem Index, there are 161 startups operating in Azerbaijan, representing 1% of all startups in Eastern Europe. This equates to approximately two startups per 100,000 people. Azerbaijan has one city ranked among the global top 1,000, a figure that has remained unchanged. The ecosystem grew by 7.3% over the past year; this growth rate is lower than both the global average (26.6%) and the Eastern European average (28.1%). Overall, the estimated value of Azerbaijan's startup ecosystem stands at 589.9 million USD.
In the "Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2026," Azerbaijan's startup ecosystem ranked 81st globally, dropping seven places compared to the previous year. Within the Eastern Europe region, the country's ecosystem fell two places from 2025 to rank 20th; it appears immediately after Albania and ahead of Moldova on this list. One Azerbaijani city also features in the "StartupBlink" Ecosystem Index. According to the "Innovators Business Environment Index"—which measures the favorability of local conditions for establishing and scaling a company—the country's business environment ranks 74th globally.
It is worth noting that Azerbaijan, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, is actively working to attract entrepreneurs and startup founders alongside transforming and digitizing its economy to reduce reliance on oil. To support this transformation, the country has launched initiatives aimed at fostering innovation and growth in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. These include the establishment of an AI Research Center to strengthen collaboration among academia, industry, and government, as well as the formation of R&D partnerships with global technology leaders—such as Microsoft and Huawei—that focus on cutting-edge fields like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and IoT.