How the IT industry in Azerbaijan developed in 2025: key events

Let’s summarize the results of 2025 and highlight the key events and achievements that influenced the development of the sector.

Key Achievements

In May 2025, Baku was recognized as the “City of the Year” by StartupBlink, and the Agency for Innovation and Digital Development recorded significant growth in innovation activity in the fields of e-commerce, education, social policy, and retail. In December, Azerbaijan rose six positions in the Startup Ecosystem Awards 2025 ranking and became the leader in “Greatest Global Progress” in Central Asia, underscoring the key role of the agency in developing the country’s innovation infrastructure and forming a sustainable startup ecosystem.

In the same year, Azerbaijan approved the “Strategy for the Development of the Digital Economy for 2026-2029,” aimed at strengthening the startup ecosystem, accelerating digital transformation, and modernizing infrastructure. As part of the strategy, it was planned to train at least 25 companies in the AI Academy, and the total number of new startups was expected to reach 250 by 2029. To support these goals, a new technology center and AI Academy opened in Baku with the support of AZCON Holding.

In the healthcare sector, a robotic surgery center was opened, allowing citizens to undergo complex surgeries within the country without the need to travel abroad. Work on the creation of the center was already underway, and the process was planned to be completed on schedule.

Parallel to this, the digitalization of government services continued: the number of users of the myGov app exceeded 2 million, with citizens most frequently using identity cards, employment information, driver’s licenses, and marriage documents.

Azerbaijan also intensified international cooperation in the field of technology: Turkic world countries agreed to create their own language model. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan expanded joint projects in digital technologies, including startup exchange, AI development, and a submarine fiber-optic communication line between the countries.

In the educational sphere, Azerbaijani schoolchildren achieved record successes at international olympiads. At the 37th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) 2025 in Bolivia, they won one silver medal, two bronze medals, and one honorable mention.

At TIMO 2025 in Antalya, a team of 70 schoolchildren won 32 medals: 8 gold, 8 silver, and 16 bronze, taking third place in the world standings.

At the International Olympiad in Cybersecurity in Singapore, schoolchildren won two silver and one bronze medal, confirming the high level of preparation.

At the International Copernicus Olympiad in physics, astronomy, and natural sciences at Rice University, four Azerbaijani students took prize places.

IT Company News

EPAM Systems opened a representative office in Baku to develop government digital services, implement generative AI, and support local startups. Also opened was the center of IT company Andersen Lab within the Azerbaijan Innovation Center, which had been operating since October of last year as a resident of the technopark.

Successful IT Startups of the Year

Azerbaijani startup Push30 raised $800,000 in investments. Push30, developing a digital platform for access to sports infrastructure and solutions in the fields of corporate wellness and HR-tech, attracted investments to scale its business. The startup raised investments: $300,000 from White Hill Capital fund and $300,000 from IT Park Ventures.

Polygraf AI presented the country at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco. Polygraf AI became the winner of the regional Road to Battlefield competition and received a direct ticket to one of the most prestigious startup venues in the world — TechCrunch Startup Battlefield. The team develops locally deployable AI solutions for protection against risks associated with AI. The startup also announced the completion of a $9.5 million Seed investment round, led by Allegis Capital with the participation of Alumni Ventures, DataPower VC, DOMiNO Ventures, and previous investors.

Tryverse attracted over $70,000 in contracts as part of Silkway Accelerator 2025, doubled its MRR, and reached an ARR of over $130,000. The platform creates 3D twins of products and plans to expand into Turkey and the MENA region, integrating with e-commerce platforms.

Major IT Events Held in the Country

A series of major international technology events took place in Baku throughout the year. The capital hosted BakuID, which brought together over 100 investors, founders, and experts from Central Eurasia and became an important platform for networking and attracting investments, as well as the 49th ICPC World Finals, organized by ADA University with the participation of teams from more than 50 countries and representatives of leading technology companies, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Huawei, and JetBrains.

Also this year in Baku, the INMerge Innovation Summit took place — one of the key regional events in the field of innovation, startups, and digital transformation, bringing together business, investors, startups, and international technology companies, including OpenAI, Google, Huawei, and EPAM; as part of the summit, an agreement was signed between White Hill Capital and the Agency for Innovation and Digital Development of Azerbaijan on the creation of a venture company to support local startups in international markets.

Additionally, the international conference SOCGOV 2025, dedicated to the application of AI and digital solutions in social governance, the Women in Cyber conference within the CIDC-2025 festival, highlighting the role of women in cybersecurity and digital innovations of the region, and DevFest Baku 2025, which brought together over 400 participants and more than 20 speakers on AI, software engineering, and cloud technologies, were held.

The annual agenda was concluded by a series of discussions within the State and IT Eurasian Forum, dedicated to the development of AI and digital technologies, where government representatives, international IT companies, and the expert community discussed the impact of AI on the economy and government services, and the Head of the Agency for Innovation and Digital Development, Salar Imamaliev, noted that Azerbaijan is forming as a new regional center for AI development, attracting interest from companies such as Google and EPAM.