How Kazakhstan's IT industry developed in 2024: key events

Key Achievements and Trends

Development of KazLLM — a large language model for the Kazakh language
This is a unique development aimed at promoting the use of the Kazakh language in the digital space, supporting business, science, and society. It is capable of performing a wide range of tasks: from translation and document processing to automating communication.

Tomorrow School for AI skills training
Tomorrow School is the first peer-to-peer artificial intelligence school in Kazakhstan, operated by Astana Hub exclusively on the 01 Edu platform.

Kazakhstan's IT services exports
Kazakhstan is among the 30 most digitized countries in the world and ranks eighth in terms of online services provided. In the first half of 2024, IT services exports grew to $306 million.

Opening of innovation hubs in Singapore and Riyadh
In 2024, two key innovation hubs for startups from Central Asia were opened in Singapore and Riyadh. The Singapore-based Nomadiq Innovation Hub provides startups with access to personalized support and tools typically available only to large companies. Meanwhile, the Al-Farabi Innovation Hub in Riyadh focuses on attracting Kazakh startups, offering them investment, incubation, acceleration, and growth opportunities in Saudi Arabia.

Global Digital Government Ranking
Kazakhstan has improved its position in the global digital government ranking. According to the UN E-Government Survey 2024, the country rose to 24th place, improving its position by four spots compared to the previous report.

Country and IT Company News

Kazakhstan's Prime Minister discussed the development of joint IT solutions with the head of EPAM Systems
During the meeting, modern trends in the global technology market and the prospects for creating new joint business solutions and research initiatives were discussed, including within the framework of opening an artificial intelligence laboratory at the National Artificial Intelligence Center.

Biometric verification project of Kazakh startup Alaqan is expanding into government institutions
The goal of this technology is to protect children's rights and safety, register employee entry and exit, and identify fake records that may lead to excessive budget expenditures.

Kazakhstan exported its IT solutions to Tajikistan
Kazakh IT solutions in the field of e-government development, including Smart Bridge, the "Unified Platform for Internet Resources of State Bodies," and the Smart Data Ukimet information and analytical system, were exported to Tajikistan.

Telegram opened an office in Kazakhstan to increase content control
The opening of an office in Kazakhstan will allow Telegram to respond more effectively to government requests and improve the quality of services provided to users in the region.

Freedom Holding Corp. closed trading on NASDAQ
Freedom Holding Corp. closed trading on the world's most high-tech exchange, NASDAQ. This ceremony underscores the company's status as a significant player in a market where giants like Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft trade.

Kaspi enters the Turkish market
Kaspi announced the acquisition of the leading Turkish marketplace Hepsiburada, solidifying its presence in the Turkish e-commerce market.

TSARKA is building a cyber shield for Central Asia and the Turkic World
Under the leadership of Olzhas Satiev, TSARKA Group announced the development of a world-class secure smartphone. Additionally, the company is strengthening partnerships with Azerbaijan and opening a new office in Kyrgyzstan to enhance the country's cyber defense.

A new venture fund, byb capital, has opened in Kazakhstan
The fund focuses its energy on investing in startups at the earliest stages: pre-seed, seed, and pre-Series A, as well as in promising projects with a global vision targeting China, India, Southeast Asia, and, of course, the USA.

Central Asia Innovation Hubs Brand
IT Park Uzbekistan and Astana Hub, the largest tech parks in Central Asia, have joined forces to promote the region's startup ecosystem and innovative potential under the Central Asia Innovation Hubs brand.

Successful IT Startups of the Year

CodiPlay
The CodiPlay startup, which teaches schoolchildren programming through gamification, received the Digital Innovation of the Year award in the UK and was recognized as the best educational project. Additionally, the Prime Minister ordered the implementation of CodiPlay in Kazakh schools to develop digital skills among students and create a modern educational environment.

CerebraAI
The CerebraAI startup won the international Innov8 competition at the Global Health Exhibition, the largest medical conference in the Middle East. Founder Doszhan Zhusupov presented the project, which was recognized as the best innovative solution of the year.

Hero’s Journey
In the summer of 2024, the Hero’s Journey startup attracted $6 million in investment as part of a funding round that became one of the largest among Kazakh startups.

EasyTap
The Kazakh startup EasyTap is expanding its presence in Central Asia. After entering the Kyrgyz market last year, the company began operations in Uzbekistan, signing a contract with the largest network of cosmetic stores, MCosmetic. EasyTap also won the Fintech Stars 2024, taking home the grand prize of $50,000.

Call2action.ai
The startup is actively scaling its operations in the US market. More than 40 US transportation companies have expressed interest in the innovative product: two have become commercial clients, and three are collaborating on pilot projects.

1Fit
The Kazakh startup 1Fit earned over $4 million in revenue for the first time. The main reason for growth in 2024 was the launch of 1Fit in three countries: Malaysia, Mexico, and the UAE. 12.5% of total revenue comes from sales outside Central Asia.

Kazakh startups on the world stage
Silkroad Innovation Hub presented 24 startups from Central Eurasia at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Among the Kazakh projects were Yaya, Arlan Biotech, FOREST HERO, Call2action, pwron.ai, Bult, Parqour, and TrustExam.

Major IT Events Held in the Country

In 2024, Kazakhstan became the center for major IT events that attracted professionals, entrepreneurs, and experts from around the world. These included Digital Almaty 2024, Astana Finance Days 2024, Kolesa Conf 24, Connected 2024, and BeWoman. Within the framework of KazHackStan 2024, exciting hackathons took place, and the ICPC World Finals 2024 gathered the best student programmers from around the world. Additionally, beetech conf 2024, CIO & CISO Forum Eurasia 2024, and Central Eurasian Venture Forum were held for specialists and entrepreneurs, discussing the latest trends in technology and startups. The New Vision business forum became a significant event for future leaders and investors. Important events also included the Central Asia Fintech Summit and Qazaqstan IGF 2024, which covered FinTech innovations and internet governance issues.

Record at Digital Almaty-2024
The international digital forum was visited by more than 30,000 unique visitors over three days. The main theme of the event was "Industry X: Digital Evolution of the Future."

These events became important steps in strengthening Kazakhstan's position as a leading player on the international IT stage.

Community and Program Results

RS Bootcamp
A new platform created by Anuar Lenzat and Asat Dosymkhan provides the opportunity to launch a startup from scratch.

Women in Tech Kazakhstan Community
On September 4, 2024, the Kazakh chapter of Women in Tech officially launched in Almaty, becoming part of a global movement aimed at promoting women in the technology sector.

TechnoWomen Community Becomes Part of the KazLLM Development Team
The goal of TechnoWomen's participation in the project is to account for the gender component in artificial intelligence, minimize bias, and ensure gender inclusivity in data and algorithms.

Al-Farabi ScaleUp Program
Al-Farabi Innovation Hub launched the first cohort of the Al-Farabi ScaleUp program — a unique initiative to support startups in partnership with the international platform Plug and Play Saudi. The program will be held in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Astana Smart City Program
The goal of the program is to implement innovative startup projects aimed at improving the urban environment, enhancing the quality of life for residents, and solving urban challenges using advanced technologies.

Go Abroad Program
The program for Central Asian startups includes a six-week online accelerator and a two-week offline course in Silicon Valley to help them enter the US market.

People

Murat Abdrakhmanov
Launched his own venture structure, MA7 Venture.

Mikhail Lomtadze
Mikhail Lomtadze was named CEO of the Year by the Kazakhstan Growth Forum. Harvard Business School also published a case study on Kaspi.kz.

Asat Abdualiev
Co-founder of Silkroad Innovation Hub. Together with Asror Arabzhanov, he organized the first technological event, Central Eurasia Silicon Valley 2024, which became an important platform for startups from Central Asia.

Bagdat Musin
Under the leadership of Bagdat Musin, Kazakhtelekom is actively developing the Sapa+ project to improve telecom services. The company replaced outdated routers with new ones for more than 100,000 clients across Kazakhstan.

Zhaslan Madiev
In 2024, he became the Minister of Digital Development, actively developing Kazakhstan's IT sector through numerous initiatives aimed at digitalization, innovation, and strengthening international ties.

Aslan Sultanov
Investor, founder, and CEO of Al-Farabi Innovation Hub, and co-founder of Al-Farabi ScaleUp — an international accelerator that helps startups from Central Asia scale on global markets.

Olzhas Zhiyenkul
Kazakh entrepreneur and investor, founder of Nomadiq Innovation Hub, an innovation center supporting technology startups. His work focuses on developing innovative projects and creating opportunities for early-stage entrepreneurs.

Magzhan Madiev
Kazakh entrepreneur and CEO of Astana Hub, known for its initiatives in startups and innovation. He actively develops the startup ecosystem in Kazakhstan, focusing on supporting IT companies and attracting international investment to the region.

Arsen Tomskiy
Arsen Tomskiy proposed opening an inVision U university in Kazakhstan to train specialists in IT, science, and art. Additionally, inDrive celebrated 10 years on the Kazakh market.

Batyr Sardarbekov
Kazakh Batyr Sardarbekov won a gold medal at the ICPC World Programming Championship. This is the first achievement of this level in 20 years of Kazakhstan's participation in the competition.