ASTANA – Kazakhstan has developed a rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) startup ecosystem, with more than 100 AI startups now operating in the country and venture investment in the sector rising more than fivefold over the past two years, according to a new report presented on Jan. 28 in the Kazakh capital.
According to the report, Kazakhstan is entering a new phase of development, shifting from digitalization to large-scale adoption of AI. Photo credit: RISE Research
Venture funding for AI projects increased from around $14 million in 2023 to $73 million in 2025. AI now accounts for more than half of all venture investment in Kazakhstan.
The report, the country’s first comprehensive overview of its AI market, examines government strategy, digital and computing infrastructure, human capital, startups, venture investment and sector-specific applications of AI.
The study was prepared by RISE Research analytical agency in partnership with Mastercard and Freedom Bank, with support from the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan and GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus. It draws on more than 30 in-depth interviews, analysis of international benchmarks, business models of more than 100 Kazakh AI startups and 10 practical case studies.
According to the report, Kazakhstan is entering a new phase of development, shifting from digitalization to large-scale adoption of AI. The authors describe AI as a key driver of economic growth and international competitiveness, estimating it could add between 0.5% and 2% to annual GDP growth in the medium term by boosting productivity across more than half of all jobs.
First in-depth assessment
“Research shows that 46% of newly created unicorns, companies valued at more than $1 billion, are AI-first companies, meaning they are now driving global innovation,” said Assel Abdrakhmanova, managing partner at RISE Research. “According to estimates, private investment in AI is expected to grow by around 29% annually through 2028.”
Assel Abdrakhmanova. Photo credit: RISE Research
She said that while global AI research offers many metrics and analytical frameworks, Kazakhstan has so far lacked a comprehensive, in-depth assessment of its own AI ecosystem.
“Every day we see headlines about AI: announcements, intentions, plans. But it is often difficult to distinguish between long-term ambitions and real, practical progress. That was the motivation behind creating this report,” said Abdrakhmanova.
She explained the report highlights Kazakhstan’s competitive advantages, including years of systematic digital transformation, strong digital public services, a young and educated population, relatively low energy costs and its ability to attract capital and technology from both Western and Eastern markets.
Despite strong AI readiness fundamentals, gaps remain in scaling AI across the real economy and building societal resilience for the AI transformation. Abdrakhmanova said the report identifies challenges, including the need to expand access to AI infrastructure, accelerate adoption beyond large companies to small and medium-sized businesses, and strengthen the country’s capacity to manage risks related to cybersecurity, labor markets and social change.
Role of infrastructure
The report highlights an important role of strong telecom infrastructure and broadband connectivity in facilitating national-scale AI adoption.
Maken Ibragimov. Photo credit: RISE Research
“The year 2025 was particularly significant for Kazakhstan in terms of infrastructure development. This includes both basic infrastructure, such as nationwide high-speed internet coverage, and more specialized initiatives directly linked to AI,” said research fellow Maken Ibragimov.
He noted that broad AI adoption at the national level is impossible without strong connectivity. While initiatives to expand high-speed internet have been ongoing for years, 2025 marked a consolidation phase. One key project, the national Accessible Internet initiative, aims to achieve 100% high-speed internet coverage nationwide by 2027.
Kazakhstan is also seeking to increase its share of Europe–Asia internet traffic transit from 1.5% to 5%, a goal Ibragimov described as ambitious given the scale of global data flows. This effort is supported by several projects, including the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic route implemented by Kazakhtelecom and AzerTelecom, as well as the East–West hyper-highway developed by Freedom Telecom.
When speaking about AI-specific infrastructure, Ibragimov pointed to the development of data centers.
“In the 2010s and the early 2020s, Kazakhstan had very few Tier III data centers. Since 2024, however, we have seen active growth in the construction of new facilities,” said the expert.
“Both Tier III and Tier IV data centers are now being built, which represents an important precedent for Kazakhstan’s national infrastructure and for the region as a whole. For those unfamiliar with the topic, the Tier classification developed by the Uptime Institute is a measure of data center reliability: the higher the tier, the lower the risk of outages due to failures or maintenance. The ministry has set a goal of minimizing downtime,” he explained.
According to government targets, the number of data center racks is expected to grow from around 4,000 in 2025 to 20,000 by 2030.
The team also estimated the number of GPU (Graphics Processing Units) servers owned by Kazakh companies. Based on market analysis and discussions with industry representatives, they identified nearly 250 servers, equivalent to roughly 2,000 high-performance GPUs, primarily NVIDIA H100 and H200 models. These include assets located both in Kazakhstan and abroad, but owned by Kazakh companies.
Government-level efforts
“Overall, we as the government are taking major steps to accelerate the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence across the public sector, including government operations, cooperation with business and services for citizens,” said Vice Minister at the Ministry of AI and Digital Development Dmitriy Mun.
Dmitriy Mun. Photo credit: RISE Research
The vice minister also detailed what the government has been doing to scale up the efforts in recent years. He mentioned the launch of a national supercomputer in 2025.
“In 2025, it ranked 86th on the global Top 500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. It is fully maintained by Kazakh specialists, who have already allocated around half of its capacity to tasks for government agencies,” said Mun.
“This is extremely important for the country’s sovereignty and information security, as well as for supporting the startup market. Startups can use this infrastructure to develop and deploy solutions critical for government agencies and the broader market, working with data that must remain within the country,” he said.
The second supercomputer, assembled by Kazakhtelecom, a national telecom operator, is located in Almaty. It is primarily intended for national companies that handle large volumes of critical and public data.
AI law is an important milestone, said Mun, adding that relevant principles have also been embedded in the Digital Code, which will serve as a legal framework for other regulations.
“These include core definitions of what AI is, key principles for its safe use to protect citizens, and data requirements that government bodies must follow so the market can more quickly adopt AI, including in public administration. This also includes the concept of a national artificial intelligence platform that enables government agencies to develop practical AI solutions quickly and in a user-friendly, modular format,” Mun explained.
The third major area is human capital. More than one million people have been trained in just over a year through various AI education programs, including government employees.
More than 7,000 civil servants have completed hands-on training, enabling them to independently create AI assistants and agents.
“Today, more than 50 such assistants and agents are being developed across different government agencies. This year is expected to be particularly productive,” he added.
