Tech Investment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Start-ups

Central Asian Startups Go Global

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...

digital economy

How Kazakhstan Became Central Asia’s Digital Hub

From October 1 to 3, Astana will host the AI & Digital Bridge conference, which is expected to draw more than 20,000 participants and over 100 technology companies. The wider AI Month begins on September 23 with HackAlem AI powered by OpenAI. Earlier editions of Digital Bridge have drawn a total of more than 127,000 participants from over 100 countries. Kazakhstan can bring such a gathering together because two decades of development have created the institutional and commercial base for its present AI strategy. Advanced computing capacity and large-scale technological investment now reinforce that base. Building the Digital Base Well before artificial intelligence became a central policy concern, Kazakhstan began building the digital-state capacity that underpins its current position. The e-government program dates from the mid-2000s. The 2017 Digital Kazakhstan program broadened that effort by linking the transition to a digital state with four other priorities: digitalization of economic sectors, development of the Digital Silk Road, human-capital development, and the creation of an innovation ecosystem. Startup formation thereby entered policy not as a one-off technology initiative but as part of a wider program of institutional and economic digitization. Kazakhstan ranked 24th globally in the UN E-Government Development Index in 2024. By 2025, about 90% of public services were available online. By then, the eGov portal had more than 15 million registered users, while its mobile application had more than 11 million. Large-scale digital interaction between citizens and the state had thus become a daily fact of life before the present AI push began. Public services inhabit the same digital environment as ordinary commercial transactions. Kaspi.kz reported 15.7 million average monthly active users in Kazakhstan at the end of 2025 and about 764,000 active merchants. Its Super App integrates payments with finance and commerce; it also carries government services. Digitalization has become part of everyday consumer behavior. In July 2026, internet and mobile banking accounted for 77.6% of non-cash transactions by number and 89.6% by value. Commercial adoption has accustomed much of the population to carrying out both routine transactions and more significant business transfers through digital systems. Infrastructure spending alone would not have produced the same result without the surrounding policy and commercial environment. Almaty supplies the financial and corporate side of the ecosystem, complementing Astana’s policy and startup institutions. Together, the two cities anchor an economy accounting for more than half of Central Asia’s GDP. Kazakhstan also holds roughly two-thirds of the region’s inward foreign investment stock, according to TCA’s Central Asia Balance Sheet. Institutional Concentration These developments acquired an institutional center through Astana Hub, established in 2018. It brings firms and founders into the same network as investors. Participation brings concrete operating advantages, including tax preferences and simplified arrangements for hiring foreign specialists. Companies may hire such specialists without a numerical limit, with work visas available for up to five years. They can also enter incubation or acceleration programs and obtain access to financing mechanisms. A 2026 World Bank appraisal described Kazakhstan as having built a credible technology-driven...

NVIDIA

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Set for First Visit to Kazakhstan in October

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang is set to make his first visit to Kazakhstan on October 23, as the country expands its artificial intelligence infrastructure. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development announced the visit on September 23. Huang is scheduled to hold a fireside chat with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev at the alem.ai International Center for Artificial Intelligence in Astana. The event will close Kazakhstan’s AI Month program. The ministry said the discussion will cover developments in artificial intelligence, technology trends, the training of AI specialists, and Central Asia’s role in the global technology sector. The visit comes amid rapidly expanding ties between NVIDIA and Kazakhstan. In June, Kazakhstan announced agreements worth up to $10 billion connected to the Data Center Valley project under development in Ekibastuz. U.S.-based Firebird is developing the project using NVIDIA technology. NVIDIA Vice President Rev Lebaredian and Firebird co-founders Razmig Hovaghimian and Alexander Yesayan took part in talks with Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. The project is planned to include a computing cluster of around 100,000 advanced GPUs, including NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin systems. Kazakh officials initially allocated 300 megawatts of power capacity for the development, while the wider site is designed to scale to as much as one gigawatt. The first Data Center Valley facility is scheduled to begin operating in June 2027. The initial facility is planned at 50 megawatts, with the larger campus expanding in stages as additional customers and investment are secured. In July, the government said partners were rolling out 250 megawatts of infrastructure at the Ekibastuz project. Kazakhstan is already operating NVIDIA-based high-performance computing infrastructure. Two Kazakh systems appeared on the June 2026 TOP500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Alem.Cloud ranked 104th and AI-Farabium 122nd, with both systems using NVIDIA H200 accelerators. Kazakhstan has also announced a separate $2 billion sovereign AI hub to be operated by Freedom Holding using NVIDIA technology. The planned project would occupy a site with 100 megawatts of available power, with Freedom Holding as the principal financing and implementation partner. Visit Caps AI Month Huang’s visit is scheduled to conclude a month of AI-related events beginning September 23. The program includes HackAlem AI, the AI & Digital Bridge 2026 forum, and a meeting of Kazakhstan’s Council for the Development of Artificial Intelligence. Lebaredian is expected to participate in the AI Council meeting on October 1. Huang’s visit comes as Kazakhstan accelerates an AI infrastructure buildout already spanning NVIDIA-powered supercomputers, large-scale data centers, dedicated power capacity, and plans for tens of thousands of advanced processors.

Data Center Valley

Kazakhstan Sets June 2027 Launch for First Data Center Valley Facility

Kazakhstan expects to launch the first facility at Data Center Valley, a large data center campus in the country’s northeast, in the summer of 2027. The government says the first 50 MW object now under construction is due to enter service in June 2027, while the site is ultimately planned to expand to as much as 1 GW. Earlier plans put the first 125 MW center in the first half of 2027; the latest statement does not explain how the 50 MW object fits into that figure. The project is aimed not only at domestic demand: Kazakhstan wants to attract foreign technology companies and is also exploring the possibility of hosting data belonging to other countries. The first data center is already under construction in the Pavlodar region, one of Kazakhstan’s main energy-producing areas. The main buildings are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026, with commissioning work to be finished in May and the launch planned for June 2027. A 215 MW substation has been acquired to supply the site with electricity. The choice of region is primarily linked to access to electricity. The Pavlodar region is home to Ekibastuz, one of Kazakhstan’s largest power-generation centers, with a vast coal basin and major power plants. For data centers, particularly GPU clusters used for artificial intelligence, access to large and stable power supplies is critical. The stated 1 GW capacity is a long-term target rather than capacity already under construction. The campus is expected to expand gradually as customers are secured. Plans call for data centers, GPU clusters for AI, and cloud services to be hosted at the site. Among the project’s foreign partners is U.S.-based Firebird AI, which works with NVIDIA technologies. In April 2026, representatives of the two companies held talks in Astana on the development of AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, and data centers. Firebird AI later reached agreements on cooperation within the Data Center Valley project. The Times of Central Asia previously reported on plans to create a large computing facility in Kazakhstan using NVIDIA technologies. Technology companies may not be the only potential clients. The government is also developing the concept of a Data Embassy, which could allow foreign governments to store data in Kazakhstan while retaining legal sovereignty over it. Such a model already exists. Estonia established its data embassy in Luxembourg, where servers remain under Estonian state control and are used to store critical data and help maintain government digital services in the event of cyberattacks or other major crises. The two countries signed an agreement on the data embassy in 2017. Kazakhstan’s Data Embassy concept is still being developed. It is being considered alongside Data Center Valley, but the government has not said that foreign states’ sovereign data would necessarily be stored at the Ekibastuz campus. Data Center Valley itself is intended to host computing capacity and cloud services for international clients. Foreign investor interest in Kazakhstan’s data center market is not limited to this project. Singapore-based GK Hyperscale Ltd plans...

Kazakhstan and U.S. AI Companies Sign Agreements Worth $10 Billion

Kazakhstan took a major step toward its goal of becoming an AI leader in the heart of the Eurasian continent when new investment deals were signed with U.S. companies NVIDIA and Firebird. Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov hosted NVIDIA Vice President Rev Lebaredian and Firebird co-founders Razmig Hovaghimian and Alexander Yesayan on June 15. They signed agreements on artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure cooperation worth up to $10 billion, for Kazakhstan’s Data Center Valley project. Top Ten in Global AI Infrastructure Representatives of the U.S. companies and Kazakh officials at the signing ceremony paid tribute to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for declaring 2026 the Year of AI in Kazakhstan, saying the move emphasized Kazakhstan’s commitment to AI development. Firebird’s Hovaghimian said realization of the agreements signed on June 15 would contribute to putting Kazakhstan in the top 10 leading AI countries worldwide before the end of 2027. Lebaredian described AI development as a “five-layer cake.” “The first layer is energy. The second layer is chips, including those from NVIDIA. The third layer is infrastructure. The next layer is AI models, such as ChatGPT,” and applications, he explained. The NVIDIA vice president said, “Kazakhstan can participate at every level of this five-layer cake.” An Old Power Source for Developing New Technology In the first phase of the project, some $5 billion will go to developing the energy sector. The Data Center Valley is located in Kazakhstan’s northern city of Ekibastuz in the Pavlodar Province. The area has long been known for its vast coal deposits and huge Soviet-era thermal power plant that provides electricity to the area. Kazakh officials have promised an initial 300 megawatts (MW) of power for the AI center, with output gradually rising to some 1000 MW. Kaztelekom chief Bagdat Musin was at the signing and said, “Essentially, Kazakhstan is transforming Ekibastuz coal into digital export revenue.” Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev said Kazakhstan expects to “generate at least $3 billion in annual export revenue, create new high-skilled jobs, (and) attract leading global technology companies.” Discussions are still underway about exactly how the remaining $5 billion would be spent in developing the second phase of the project. Madiyev mentioned that when finished, Ekibastuz would host a “large-scale computing cluster powered by 100,000 state-of-the-art GPU (graphics processing units) chips, including NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin.” A press release posted by Firebird noted the “three-phase expansion strategy” would enable the project “to scale beyond 100,000 NVIDIA Blackwell and Vera Rubin GPUs by the end of 2027, creating one of the world’s largest AI computing platforms.” Firebird Labs Kazakhstan will also be established, based on Kazakhstan’s International Center for Artificial Intelligence in the capital, Astana. Era of Expanding Kazakh-U.S. Ties The agreements with NVIDIA and Firebird are the latest in a series of deals with U.S. companies since late 2025. President Tokayev announced the plan for the Data Center Valley project in January 2026. In May, a U.S.-linked international consortium signed a deal worth some $1 billion...