ASTANA – Kazakhstan has created a tech ecosystem that is generating $1 billion and even $10 billion startups at a pace comparable to leading global ecosystems in the United States (U.S.) and China, said Yoram Wijngaarde, the founder and CEO of Dealroom.co, during the Digital Almaty 2025 forum held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.
Yoram Wijngaarde. Photo credit: gov.kz
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry, Wijngaarde noted that while the U.S. and Europe still lead in the number of startups, Asian countries are showing high growth rates. Kazakhstan now accounts for 15-20% of all venture capital investment in Central Asia.
“Kazakhstan is not only catching up but surpassing the U.S. in the speed of ‘decacorn’ creation – startups valued at over $10 billion,” Wijngaarde said. “In a very short time, companies such as Kaspi.kz, valued at over $10 billion, have emerged in Kazakhstan’s still very young IT ecosystem.”
Dealroom.co has analyzed 101 startups in Kazakhstan, which is just the beginning of its exploration of the region. With increased collaboration with Astana Hub, the database will grow significantly over the next year, enabling a more detailed assessment of the country’s startup ecosystem.
Integrating Kazakhstan’s ecosystem into the Dealroom.co platform is of strategic importance, providing access to global investments and partnerships. This will help Kazakh startups attract capital, scale globally, and strengthen the country’s position on the global innovation map.
Founded in 2013 in Amsterdam, Dealroom.co is a leading platform for analyzing startup ecosystems, venture capital trends, and corporate innovation. It tracks over two million startups and investors, offering unique opportunities to evaluate investment prospects and predict market growth.
