How a Kazakh startup is changing the rules in the construction industry: the story of Armeta

Temirlan Rakhmetzhanov, San Francisco city, co‑founder and CEO, Armeta

Sanzhar Rakhmetzhanov, Astana city, co‑founder, Armeta

Nuraly Baktygaliev, Astana city, co‑founder & CTO, Armeta 

How it all began

Temirlan Rakhmetzhanov says Armeta was initially formed in the United States, and later the team was invited to Kazakhstan to develop its projects there. Armeta is an artificial intelligence platform that automates the expert evaluation and approval process for construction projects. 

Sanzhar Rakhmetzhanov has nearly 25 years of experience in industrial engineering and construction. He worked with investment firms and co‑founded a technology engineering company in 2013 that expanded into industrial and IT sectors. His international experience in Europe, North America, Asia, and the CIS gave him deep insight into engineering and EPC practices worldwide. 

Temirlan studied industrial engineering and business management in Germany and later joined his father’s group of companies, gaining hands‑on experience across project, industrial, and IT departments. He says the construction industry remains conservative and poorly digitized, with many manual processes and outdated systems — creating significant opportunities for IT and artificial intelligence solutions. 

Nuraly Baktygaliev, the third co-founder and CTO, leads the technical strategy and coordination of the AI, machine learning, and software engineering teams. He graduated with distinction in Computer Science from a university in the United Kingdom. 

The team

Armeta’s team is composed of engineers with practical experience implementing AI solutions, as well as graduates and students from Nazarbayev University, Astana IT University, and other institutions. Based in Astana, the company is developing the local tech community and supporting Kazakh talent. The team currently has 26 people, and plans are underway to establish R&D centers in Doha, Tashkent, and San Francisco. 

Target audience

Sanzhar says the company’s primary customers are government agencies, national ministries, and large corporations. Armeta began with targeted AI tools — including an AI assistant that helped engineers answer technical questions, generate documents, and perform calculations — and even tested those tools in Silicon Valley. As the company engaged with clients, it became clear that governments and large enterprises needed a comprehensive AI platform to address widespread issues in engineering documentation and review workflows. 

Incubation programs

Temirlan explains that the majority of top accelerators producing unicorns are in the United States, especially in California. Among them, Alchemist Accelerator stood out as the ideal fit for Armeta, given its focus on B2B and DeepTech startups. Armeta applied to other programs as well, and after a wave of approvals, the team chose Alchemist and quickly finalized terms. They are currently in the accelerator’s winter batch. 

The challenges

Sanzhar highlights that his son Arlan — founder of the well‑known startup Nozomio — led their family’s early acceleration and fundraising efforts, and now serves as an advisor. Arlan completed rounds including Pre‑Seed and Seed, participated in Y Combinator, and raised $7.5 million in venture investment, giving Armeta practical guidance. 

Temirlan says the path was not easy, especially when pitching to venture investors in San Francisco. Investors asked detailed questions about go‑to‑market strategies, target customers, decision‑makers, economics, metrics, team structure, and technology. For DeepTech in construction — one of the most conservative industries — funds are particularly selective. They do not invest in hype but in solutions that demonstrably solve real industry problems, evaluating product value, team strength, partnerships, and sales strategy. 

Achievements

Sanzhar says he is proud to do business with his elder son. Temirlan expresses pride in his team, noting their dedication and energy despite demanding work. Nuraly emphasizes the combination of domain expertise and advanced technology as the company’s strength, including development of fundamental AI models trained on large engineering data sets. The team continually tests and integrates emerging technologies from their San Francisco office to remain at the forefront of innovation. 

Future plans

Today Armeta operates in three countries — the United States, Kazakhstan, and Qatar. In Qatar, the company is opening an office and registering locally, supported by its first investor, a U.S.‑Qatari venture fund. The team is focusing on initial scaling in Kazakhstan, starting with a pilot collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Construction’s expert review division, which evaluates major industrial and civil projects. Armeta aims to become a strategic automation partner for government expertise using its AI platform. 

Next, Armeta plans to offer solutions to major corporations and operators such as Samruk‑Kazyna, KazMunayGas, QazaqGaz, NCOC, KPO, and TCO, and to expand its platform offerings to other government bodies. Meanwhile, the company is beginning registration processes in Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan, with imminent commercial activity expected through accelerator introductions, first investors, and existing international contacts. 

The United States remains a priority, with the San Francisco office and plans to scale in industrial states including California, Texas, and Illinois. The company’s strategy for the next two to three years is to offer its platform and product suite to government agencies and large corporations in sectors such as oil and gas, mining and metallurgy, energy, and infrastructure.