ASTANA – Kazakhstan has developed a rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) startup ecosystem, with more than 100 AI startups now operating in the country and venture capital investments in the sector increasing more than fivefold over the past two years, according to a new report presented Jan. 28 in the Kazakh capital.
According to the report, Kazakhstan is entering a new phase of development, moving from digitalization to large-scale adoption of AI. Photo credit: RISE Research
Venture capital funding for AI projects increased from around $14 million in 2023 to $73 million in 2025. AI now accounts for more than half of all venture capital investments in Kazakhstan.
The report, the first comprehensive overview of the country’s AI market, examines government strategy, digital and IT infrastructure, human capital, startups, venture capital investments and sector applications of AI.
The study was prepared by the analytical agency RISE Research in partnership with Mastercard and Freedom Bank, with the support of the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan and GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus. It is based on more than 30 in-depth interviews, analysis of international references, business models of more than 100 Kazakh AI startups and 10 practical case studies.
According to the report, Kazakhstan is entering a new phase of development, moving from digitalization to large-scale adoption of AI. The authors describe AI as a key driver of economic growth and international competitiveness, estimating that it could add between 0.5% and 2% to annual GDP growth in the medium term by increasing the productivity of more than half of all jobs.
First in-depth assessment
“Research shows that 46% of newly created unicorns, companies valued at more than $1 billion, are AI-driven companies, meaning they are now driving global innovation,” said Assel Abdrakhmanova, managing partner at RISE Research. “Private investment in AI is estimated to grow by around 29% annually through 2028.”
Assel Abdrakhmanova. Photo credit: RISE Research
She said that although global AI research offers many parameters and frameworks for analysis, Kazakhstan until now lacked a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of its own AI ecosystem.
“Every day we see headlines about AI: announcements, intentions, plans. But it is often difficult to distinguish between long-term ambitions and real, practical progress. This is the motivation behind creating this report,” Abdrakhmanova said.
She explained that the report highlights Kazakhstan’s competitive advantages, including years of systematic digital transformation, strong digital public services, a young and educated population, relatively low energy costs and its ability to attract capital and technology from Western and Eastern markets.
Despite strong AI readiness fundamentals, gaps remain in deploying AI in the real economy and building societal resilience for AI transformation. Abdrakhmanova said the report identifies challenges including the need to expand access to AI infrastructure, accelerate adoption beyond large enterprises to small and medium-sized businesses, and strengthen the country’s capacity to manage risks related to cybersecurity, labor markets and social change.
Role of infrastructure
The report highlights the important role of strong telecommunications infrastructure and broadband connectivity in facilitating nationwide adoption of AI.
Maken Ibragimov. Photo credit: RISE Research
“The year 2025 was particularly important for Kazakhstan in terms of infrastructure development. This includes both basic infrastructure, such as nationwide high-speed internet coverage, and more specialized initiatives directly related to AI,” said researcher Maken Ibragimov.
He emphasized that wide adoption of AI at the national level is impossible without strong connectivity. While initiatives to develop high-speed Internet have continued for years, 2025 marked a phase of consolidation. A key project, the National Accessible Internet Initiative, aims to reach 100% high-speed internet coverage nationwide by 2027.
Kazakhstan is also seeking to increase its share of Europe-Asia internet traffic transit from 1.5% to 5%, a goal Ibragimov called ambitious given the scale of global data flows. This effort is supported by several projects, including the Trans-Caspian fiber optic route implemented by Kazakhtelecom and AzerTelecom, as well as the East-West hyperhighway developed by Freedom Telecom.
Speaking about AI-specific infrastructure, Ibragimov highlighted the development of data centers.
“In the 2010s and early 2020s, Kazakhstan had very few Tier III data centers. However, since 2024 we have seen active growth in the construction of new facilities,” the expert said.
“Tier III and Tier IV data centers are being built, which represents an important precedent for Kazakhstan’s national infrastructure and the region as a whole. For those unfamiliar with the topic, the Tier classification developed by the Uptime Institute is a measure of data center reliability: the higher the level, the lower the risk of failures due to breakdowns or maintenance. The ministry has set itself the goal of minimizing downtime,” he explained.
According to government targets, the number of data center racks is expected to increase from around 4,000 in 2025 to 20,000 by 2030.
The team also estimated the number of GPU (Graphics Processing Units) servers owned by Kazakh companies. Based on market analysis and discussions with industry representatives, they identified nearly 250 servers, equivalent to approximately 2,000 high-performance GPUs, primarily NVIDIA H100 and H200 models. These include assets located in Kazakhstan and abroad, but owned by Kazakh companies.
Government-level efforts
“Overall, as a government, we are taking major steps to accelerate the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence in the public sector, including in government operations, cooperation with businesses and citizen services,” said Deputy Minister at the Ministry of AI and Digital Development Dmitriy Mun.
Dmitriy Mun. Photo credit: RISE Research
The deputy minister also detailed what the government has done to step up efforts in recent years. He spoke of the launch of a national supercomputer in 2025.
“In 2025, it ranked 86th in the world’s 500 most powerful supercomputers. It is fully maintained by Kazakh specialists, who have already devoted about half of its capacity to tasks for government agencies,” Mun said.
“This is extremely important for the country’s sovereignty and information security, as well as supporting the startup market. Startups can use this infrastructure to develop and deploy critical solutions for government agencies and the broader market, working with data that must remain in the country,” he said.
The second supercomputer, assembled by Kazakhtelecom, a national telecommunications operator, is located in Almaty. It is primarily aimed at national companies that process large volumes of critical and public data.
AI Law This is an important step, Mun said, adding that relevant principles have also been incorporated into the Digital Code, which will serve as a legal framework for further regulations.
“These include basic definitions of what AI is, key principles for its safe use to protect citizens, and data requirements that government agencies must meet so that the market can more quickly adopt AI, including in public administration. This also includes the concept of a national artificial intelligence platform that allows government agencies to develop practical AI solutions quickly and in a modular, user-friendly format,” explained Mun.
The third major area is human capital. More than a million people have been trained in just over a year through various AI training programs, including government employees.
More than 7,000 civil servants have undergone hands-on training to independently create AI assistants and agents.
“Today, more than 50 such assistants and officers are being trained in different government agencies. This year is expected to be particularly productive,” he added.