22 startups from Kazakhstan that we were proud of in 2023

We are sharing a selection of Kazakh startups that managed to attract investments, enter new markets, and expand their influence in 2023.

Porte

The startup was accepted into the global accelerator 500 Startups in Georgia. Additionally, the project won the "Most Investable" category at Astana Hub Battle 2023 within the Digital Bridge 2023 framework.

FOREST HERO

The startup won at the international startup competition COP28 and received $100,000 for company development. The projects were evaluated by experts from Google, Amazon, General Electric, and LinkedIn.

MED365

The startup received the Presidential Award "Altyn Sapqa" in the category "Best Industrial Enterprise." MED365 became the first IT company in the history of Kazakhstan to receive this award.

GoDays

GoDays attracted investments from the venture fund MyVentures at a valuation of $3,000,000. The startup already works with companies such as Toyota JP, Shell US, Nike US, and Spotify.

EasyTap

In 2023, the startup launched in Kyrgyzstan. Currently, more than a thousand Kyrgyz citizens have registered in the application.

Beksar

The startup connected 2,200 stores to its system. Over its entire existence, the founders attracted about $50,000. At Astana Hub Battle 2023, the project won the "Exponential Growth" category. During the IRA acceleration program from MOST, MRR increased from $10,000 to $30,000.

CheckDoc

The startup closed a pre-seed round with investments totaling $250,000. The Dubai fund Almak Capital invested in the mobile diagnostic service. The funding will go toward developing the technological part of the service and accelerating market growth.

Citix

Citix acquired a 49% stake in the startups Quantum and Excello. Additionally, the project attracted $10,000,000 in investments through the issuance of bonds.
The project also received $1,000,000 in investments from Tim Draper.

IMPRO

The startup won the title of the best EdTech startup in Central Asia at the EdCrunch forum. The team gained the opportunity to participate in the GESAwards 2023 finals. In 2024, they will attend a two-week bootcamp in London.

Qtap

At the pre-seed stage, the Qtap startup attracted $275,000 in investments. The project also won at Astana Hub Battle 2023 in the "Most Innovative" category. In March 2023, the team completed the MOST Incubator acceleration program, becoming one of the best among 30 projects.

Kwaaka

The startup closed an investment round of $600,000. Investors included Murat Abdrakhmanov, Big Sky Capital fund, Madiyar Tuleuov, Olzhas Akbaev, and Aman Alimbayev.

TrustMe

The Kazakh startup TrustMe entered the top ten best technology companies following the Demo Day of the Hero Training program by Astana Hub in Silicon Valley. Venture investor Tim Draper expressed interest in investing in this project.

ProsperPay

The technological service for issuing salary advances successfully completed an investment round at a valuation of $3,000,000 with Kazakh super-angels. Murat Abdrakhmanov invested $150,000, and Askar Dostiyarov invested $100,000.

Hero’s Journey

The startup Hero’s Journey attracted $900,000 in investments to develop a network of innovative fitness gyms in Kazakhstan.
Investors included the international venture fund Big Sky Capital and the Kazakh investment holding EA Group Holding.

S1lkPay

FinTech startup S1lkPay received a patent for its payment system in the USA. It concerns the creation of a virtual prepaid card linked to the user's account. Through tokenization, the user can instantly provide access to funds in their account to relatives anywhere in the world and jointly pay for purchases.

Cerebra

In 2023, the startup launched in one of the leading hospitals in Uzbekistan, Shox International Hospital. Additionally, Cerebra won the international competition Global Startup Awards in the "Best VerTech Startup 2023" category. This is the largest independent startup ecosystem competition headquartered in Copenhagen.

The project was recognized as the best innovative project of the year in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The team gained access to the Ministry of Health sandbox, the SEHA virtual hospital, and the Innovation Support Center.

Additionally, Cerebra attracted $4,100,000 in investments from Big Sky Capital, MOST Ventures, Aloqa Ventures, Uzcard Ventures, Timur Turlov, UMAY VC, and Ynta Group.

CodiPlay

The startup launched in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. It became the winner of the startup battle at Baku Investment Day 2023, the main event for startups and innovations in Azerbaijan.
The project also closed a seed round, attracting $2,000,000 in funding. The funds were invested by Tumar Venture Fund and White Hill Capital Ltd.

BPM Tracker

The startup attracted its first round of investments totaling $300,000 at a valuation of $3,000,000. The lead investor of the round was business angel and entrepreneur Murat Abdrakhmanov; besides him, the round included the MOST Ventures fund and the UMAY club.

Revita

A project by the Kazakh team of Madiyar Moldabaev, Dias Baimukhanov, Dinmukhamed Nuran, and Ansar Serikbayev. Young developers created a mobile application for rehabilitation after organ transplantation and entered the top 10 of the international Google Solution Challenge competition. 1,500 startups participated in the competition.

1Fit
The startup attracted $1,000,000. The TMT Investments fund invested $500,000, and the Capital Mil fund contributed $100,000. A syndicate of Kazakh "digital nomads" invested an additional $400,000.

The project also launched in Azerbaijan. Currently, 50 fitness gyms in Baku are connected to 1Fit.

HeRo Study
The startup attracted $250,000 from the venture fund Big Sky Capital and $202,000 from a private investor. The funds will be directed toward expanding the platform into Asian and US markets.

ApartX

The startup attracted $250,000 in investments from the venture fund Big Sky Capital and Activat VC. These investments will allow the startup to expand its capabilities, strengthen its market position, and break boundaries in the real estate rental industry.