Startups with their roots in Central Asia are increasingly building businesses for customers in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. International funds are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in these companies, founders are joining Y Combinator and other Silicon Valley programs, and some startups are moving their headquarters abroad while retaining development teams and ties to the region.
Central Asian startups attracted a record $320 million in 2025. However, a large share of the funding was concentrated in just two deals: Higgsfield AI and Uzbekistan’s Uzum accounted for 61% of the total. Excluding them, the market amounted to $124.5 million, still 31% higher than in 2024.
This points to two aspects of the current growth: venture capital in the region is already measured in hundreds of millions of dollars, but remains heavily concentrated in a handful of companies. Relatively small technology teams from Central Asia are incorporating in the United States, raising money from American investors, and selling products to global customers.
Kazakh Roots, American Market
So far, the trend is most visible in Kazakhstan. In 2025, venture investment in Kazakh startups reached $209 million, up from $71 million a year earlier, while the aggregate valuation of funded Kazakh startups stood at $2.16 billion. RISE Research also reported that U.S.-focused startups with Kazakh roots raised more than $214 million.
One of the biggest examples is Higgsfield AI, whose co-founders include Uzbekistan-born Alex Mashrabov and Kazakhstan’s Yerzat Dulat. Based in San Francisco, the company develops AI tools for generating images and video.
In August 2026, Higgsfield raised $400 million in a Series B round at a $5.4 billion valuation. The round was led by DST Global, with investors including Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Tribe Capital, Intel Capital, and other international funds. By then, the company had more than 30 million users. In September, Higgsfield said its technology was being used in campaigns for 390 Fortune 500 companies.
Another route into the U.S. market runs through Y Combinator, one of Silicon Valley’s best-known startup accelerators. In 2025, three startups with Kazakhstani founders – Nozomio, Leaping AI, and Hillclimb – joined the program.
Arlan Rakhmetzhanov’s Nozomio develops tools that help AI agents work with large software codebases. After Y Combinator, the company raised $6.2 million from CRV, BoxGroup, LocalGlobe, and other investors. Rakhmetzhanov began working on the project while still in school before moving its development to the United States.
Leaping AI, whose co-founder and chief technology officer Arkadiy Telegin is from Kazakhstan, develops voice AI agents for businesses. The company went through Y Combinator, raised a $4.7 million seed round, and shifted its center of operations from Germany to San Francisco.
Hillclimb, whose founders include Kazakhstan’s Ibrakhim Ustelbay, develops data and virtual environments for training AI models through reinforcement learning, in which an algorithm improves by receiving feedback on its actions.
The U.S. market is also attracting startups outside Y Combinator. Kazakh entrepreneur Bakytzhan Dos is developing Nace.AI in the United States, a platform designed for complex enterprise workflows in finance, audit, and compliance. The company has raised a total of $26.5 million, including a $21.5 million round announced in May 2026. Its investors include Walden Catalyst, General Catalyst, and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.
In late September, another Kazakh founder, Alimkhan Kassymov, and his American partner Aidan Giordano won Perplexity’s Billion Dollar Build program. Their startup, Ticker, analyzes prices, sales, and demand in the U.S. market for tickets to concerts, sporting events, and other live events. The project received more than $500,000 in investment and AI infrastructure credits.
What these companies have in common is that they are not taking products that first succeeded in Kazakhstan and subsequently moving them abroad. Nozomio, Nace.AI, Leaping AI, and Ticker were built from the outset for sectors where their main customers and venture capital are outside Central Asia.
The Times of Central Asia has previously reported on this model: companies may retain engineering teams in Kazakhstan, incorporate their parent company in the United States, and generate most of their revenue from overseas customers.
Beyond Silicon Valley
The United States is not the only destination. Kazakh EdTech startup CodiPlay has developed a platform for teaching schoolchildren coding, robotics, and digital skills. In January 2025, the company announced a $9 million funding round at a $100 million valuation from investors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
By the end of 2025, CodiPlay said its solutions were being used in around 1,200 schools across 13 countries, including the United Kingdom, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
However, founder Zhanadil Taldybayev said in an August 2026 interview that CodiPlay received only part of the announced $9 million. It declined the remainder while expecting a separate $20 million investment that never materialized. He described cash shortages and delayed salaries. The company was refocusing on Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa after losses in other markets.
The geography of foreign capital entering the region is also expanding. Alongside U.S. funds, investors from the Gulf states, China, Europe, and Southeast Asia are becoming more active in Central Asia. In September, Singapore-based Golden Gate Ventures announced plans for a two-year program in Uzbekistan for 20 startup founders from Central Asia. The fund has opened an office in Tashkent and is considering investments in Uzbek startups.
Uzbekistan: Capital Comes to Tashkent
According to RISE Research, venture investment in Uzbekistan totaled $99.3 million in 2025, compared with Kazakhstan’s $209 million. Excluding Uzum, Uzbek startups attracted $33.8 million, more than 11 times the 2022 level. About 85% of that smaller total came from domestic investors.
One example of expansion beyond the domestic market is TASS Vision, founded in Tashkent by Shahzod Umirzakov and Jamshidjon Khakimjonov. The company develops AI systems for analyzing operations in traditional retail. By summer 2026, its technology was being used in more than 3,000 stores across ten countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkey, Georgia, and Peru.
Uzum represents a different model. Uzbekistan’s largest digital ecosystem combines e-commerce, banking, payments, and consumer lending. Unlike many of the Kazakh AI startups, its business is centered primarily on Uzbekistan’s large domestic market, but its financing has already become international.
In August 2025, Uzum raised $65.5 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. In March 2026, it secured another $131.5 million, taking its valuation to $2.3 billion. Investors in the latest rounds include Tencent, VR Capital, FinSight Ventures, and Omani sovereign wealth funds.
These companies take different routes to growth. Nozomio and Nace.AI target overseas customers, while Uzum attracts international capital to serve Uzbekistan. TASS Vision has expanded abroad from its base in Tashkent.
Central Asia’s venture market remains small, and funding is concentrated in a few large deals. Even so, founders from the region are reaching customers well beyond their home markets, with businesses ranging from school technology to retail software.
