ArtSkin: Prosthetics with a Sense of Touch from Kyrgyzstan

The Kyrgyz startup ecosystem is still in its nascent stages and can’t boast an endless number of founders pursuing their dreams. But those focused on building hardware startups, which is generally significantly more challenging, are even a rarer breed. Despite all of that, there is an ambitious attempt to build artificial skin for prosthetics. Meet ArtSkin. Not like a human hand “Since childhood, I was mad about science and tech, and the first big thing that I made was a prototype of the first airplane by the Wright brothers. I dropped it from the second floor, and it was crushed after flying four meters. Later, when I was twelve, I saw a TV program about robot battles, and it was crazy! Since then, I have wanted to be able to make any kind of robots, and my dream has come true,” says Iliias Dzheentaev’s biography on LinkedIn. Dzheentaev is the CEO and Founder of ArtSkin.  ArtSkin is a hardware startup from Kyrgyzstan that develops artificial skin for prosthetic limbs. It was launched by Dzheentaev in 2024. Before that, he spent three years studying how human skin, the nervous system, and receptors work to understand how to design a device allowing proper touch sensations. The process was time-consuming and challenging due to the lack of relevant information. “My initial prototype was a robotic arm manipulator. I encountered a challenge with grasping flexible objects – figuring out how to make the robot recognize when its claw had squeezed tightly enough to hold the object securely. To solve this, I developed a mechanism that overcomes the resistance of different materials, enabling the robot to firmly grasp objects of various shapes, textures, and densities. Although the mechanism was simple, it made me realize how important this problem is for robotics. This insight then led me to thinking about people who use prosthetics and whether they actually feel anything when wearing them”, Dzheentaev tells The Times of Central Asia. He was not happy with the contemporary prosthetic solutions – basic body-powered mechanical prosthetics rely on physical motions, and more advanced bionic prosthetics translate electrical signals generated by muscle activity into movements, both of which lack feedback. And without the latter, control is incomplete, while with a human hand, one can easily understand its position as well as feel touch and pressure. With this in mind, Dzheentaev built his prototype with a single sensor to test the device on himself. First steps Things got serious when Dzheentaev visited the High Technology Park of the Kyrgyz Republic (HTP), where he was inspired by other founders pitching and raising funds for their startups. At the time, unfamiliar with this environment, Dzheentaev was using his salary to buy electronic components, order materials, and do designs. Not long after, Dzheentaev took part in HTP’s two programs: Dive into Silicon Valley and Unicorn from KG. The finalists for the first one were selected in February 2024. Dive into Silicon Valley in an entry-level incubation program, which sends founders to spend two...

24 Central Eurasian Startups Join Silicon Valley Programs

This fall, 24 startups from Central Eurasia and other regions will join the AlchemistX and Silicon Valley Residency programs, set to begin on September 3. The selected teams will gain direct access to the U.S. venture ecosystem, top investors, and leading technology companies. In 2025, a total of 225 startups from 20 countries applied, but only 24 were selected. Of these, 10 teams from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were accepted into the AlchemistX program, while 14 others, representing Qatar, the U.S., Singapore, Georgia, and Mongolia, joined the Silicon Valley Residency. “AlchemistX & Silicon Valley Residency is a strategic corridor linking Central Eurasia with Silicon Valley,” said Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, Zhaslan Madiev. He highlighted the importance of tangible results, noting that in 2024, 22 participating startups generated $380,000 in revenue within four months and secured $1.4 million in funding. Over the course of the four-month program, participants will receive mentorship from venture partners, attend workshops on U.S. market entry, and pitch their startups to investors at Demo Day. Teams will also have the opportunity to register their companies in the U.S. and become part of the Silkroad Innovation Hub, Kazakhstan’s official innovation outpost in Silicon Valley. “Silkroad Innovation Hub was created as a bridge between Central Eurasia and Silicon Valley, and today we see this mission becoming a reality,” said Asset Abdualiyev, the hub’s founder. The programs are organized by Astana Hub in partnership with IT Park Uzbekistan, Silkroad Innovation Hub, and Alchemist Accelerator, with the support of the digital development ministries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as regional venture funds. The participation of Kazakh and Uzbek startups in Silicon Valley underscores Central Eurasia’s growing presence on the global tech stage and offers new pathways for integration into the international innovation economy. At the first Central Eurasia at Silicon Valley conference held in October 2024, industry leaders projected that the region could give rise to major global IT companies within the next 10 to 15 years. Organizers cite the region’s untapped potential: a population of over 100 million, an average age of 27, and around 200,000 STEM graduates each year. With a maturing startup ecosystem, active universities, growing venture capital networks, and an international presence in Silicon Valley, Central Eurasia is poised to become a new tech frontier.