AdminAtoz CarbonCycle Platform, a full-stack carbon platform turning carbon liabilities into bankable climate assets through nature-based solutions, has been crowned champion of the Startup World Cup Malaysia 2026 KL Final, securing its place at the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in Silicon Valley, where it will compete against founders from over 100 regional competitions worldwide for a USD 1,000,000 investment prize.
Held at the Khazanah Auditorium, Asia School of Business, the KL Final marked the culmination of the bootcamp-to-semi-finals journey under Startup World Cup Malaysia, the national qualifier run by Growth Charger as the official Malaysia partner of Startup World Cup by Pegasus Tech Ventures.
Atoz CarbonCycle Platform rose to the top of a competitive Top 10 lineup, all of whom pitched live before a panel of judges drawn from Malaysia’s innovation and investment ecosystem.
“Nature is the long-term solution to the world’s carbon debt. Building a startup at the intersection of carbon, agriculture, and nature has never been an easy journey, because we are not creating one product but we are building an entire ecosystem. We are deeply grateful to the judges and organisers for believing in our vision, and to our team, partners, adopters, and farmers who continue to build it with us. With the right strategic partners, we believe Malaysia can become the foundation for scalable carbon infrastructure that transforms Southeast Asia, creates value for people and the planet, and helps shape the next global economy,” said Jean Tan, co-founder & Chief Ecosystem Officer, Atoz CarbonCycle Platform.
Top 10 startups compete for global recognition
The Top 10 finalists competing at the KL Final were ADA Biotech, Atoz CarbonCycle Platform, CitySage, Empowered AI, GreenVita, IOMInsight, NCSpeech, ProLadang International, ReMo, and Zephyron.
Startups were judged by a panel of senior industry leaders representing Cyberview Sdn Bhd, pitchIN, 1% Advisory & Coaching, Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), MRANTI, and CloudMile Malaysia, who assessed founders on innovation, scalability, market traction, and global investment readiness.
Startup World Cup Malaysia is anchored by Premier Partners the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) and Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation Berhad (SDEC), whose support has powered the programme into the country’s most far-reaching pathway for founders to compete on the global stage.
West Chapter founders began their journey at a bootcamp hosted by Strategic Partner CloudMile, before advancing to the Semi-Final at WORQ Bangsar, Menara UOA Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, hosted by Ecosystem Partner WORQ. CloudMile returned to the KL Final as a judge.
“At CloudMile, We’re passionate about giving back to the ecosystem by sharing our experience, mentoring founders, and helping them leverage technology to scale faster. We are a startup ourselves & understand the pain, challenges & loneliness throughout the journey, with that, we’ve decided to give a helping hand to within our capability to help more Malaysian startups accelerate their journey & be a “friend & mentor” to them, hoping to help them become Centaurs born in Malaysia. Seeing the quality of innovation and ambition from this year’s finalists gives us great confidence in the future of Malaysia’s startup ecosystem.” said Lester Leong, Country Manager, CloudMile Malaysia.
Supporting founders with resources to scale globally
As part of its continued support, WORQ is offering the KL Final champion six months of access to two hot desks, along with one month hot desk each for four randomly selected finalists. “At WORQ, we’re proud to support Malaysia’s next generation of founders by creating spaces and ecosystems where innovation thrives, ideas scale, and global ambitions take flight.” said Stephanie Ping, Co-founder & CEO of WORQ.
As the Tech Hub Developer behind Cyberjaya’s growing innovation ecosystem, Strategic Partner Cyberview has backed Startup World Cup Malaysia for three consecutive years, giving founders the strategic resources, infrastructure, and market access they need to scale. “As the developer of Cyberjaya’s innovation ecosystem, Cyberview is proud to support platforms such as Startup World Cup that open doors for high-potential startups to gain international exposure and access new markets. And seeing the achievement of several of our Cyberview Living Lab® Accelerator (CLLA) in reaching the Top 10 is a testament to the talent within Malaysia’s startup community and reinforces our commitment to empowering founders with the resources and ecosystem needed to scale globally.” said Shafinaz Salim, Head of Technology Hub Development, Cyberview Sdn Bhd.
“Every year, this stage reminds us why we do this work. Startup World Cup Malaysia exists to close the distance between Malaysian founders and the world’s biggest stage, and the Top 10 proved once again that our startups belong in that conversation. We’re honoured to keep building this bridge between Malaysia and Silicon Valley, and even more honoured to send Atoz CarbonCycle Platform forward to represent the country at the Grand Finale,” said Nick Khor, Partner at Growth Charger.
All eyes now turn to the East Chapter Final in Kuching on 31 July 2026, where the next wave of top founders will battle for the second golden ticket to the Startup World Cup Grand Finale in Silicon Valley.
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