Grants for project development, residency in top hubs, access to major investors and unique business resources - Digital Almaty 2025 has become a connecting bridge between IT specialists, startups, investors, business representatives and government agencies.

The main topic of the forum was the impact of artificial intelligence on industry, economy and public administration. Its integration into finance, public administration, ESG, medicine, education and cybersecurity was discussed.

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov announced the creation of the Alem.AI International Center for Artificial Intelligence in Astana, which will bring together startups and IT companies. He also invited EAEU countries to join the project. Also during the plenary session, the winners of the Digital Awards - an award for the best IT solutions and innovative projects - were honored.

As part of the forum’s business program, 37 panel sessions were held, attended by 200 speakers, including 60 foreign speakers. At one of the panel discussions, “AI-driven: government, business, society”, the participants emphasized the importance of cooperation between government and business in the field of AI, as well as the need to invest in infrastructure and personnel training for successful digital transformation.

Experts agreed that today artificial intelligence should become a companion for every person, accompanying them in all spheres.

“The sooner we can embrace artificial intelligence, the sooner we can become a better teacher, a better doctor, a better business owner,” –  Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu believes.

Richard Stirling, co-founder and CEO of Oxford Insights, emphasized that artificial intelligence is increasingly taking over functions previously performed by humans. For instance, AI is able to analyze medical data and suggest diagnoses. However, in his opinion, the most effective model today is the cooperation between humans and AI.

“The labor market is changing. I don't mean unemployment, but everyone will have to adapt and learn how to work with artificial intelligence while gaining valuable experience,” – Stirling said.

Meanwhile, former Arsenal and England footballer Sol Campbell is sure that people should not fear competition with robots for jobs.

“There is an opportunity here to create a huge number of jobs just in terms of training. I don't think AI will have a negative impact on the labor market. I think, on the contrary, it will contribute to the growth of the labor market, the growth of industries. Maybe a couple of professions will disappear, but in general there will be growth,” –  Sol Campbell shared his opinion.

Nick Davidov, founder of Gagarin Capital and Davidovs VC, who has been investing exclusively in AI startups for the past 12 years, assessed the investment fund of Kazakhstan’s IT industry. He emphasized that Kazakhstan has a similar working culture to Silicon Valley

“The education here is great, the talent is amazing, the people are smart and stable. The work culture is very nice and really fits the Silicon Valley culture. People are willing to work 100 hours a week and do whatever it takes,” –  says Nick Davidoff.

CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. Timur Turlov is sure that despite the high costs of AI, its implementation will bring much higher profits due to increased productivity and business efficiency.

“The implementation of artificial intelligence will generate much more profit compared to the creation of AI itself. Even if tens and hundreds of millions of dollars are spent, the value will still lie in the benefit for end users,” – Turlov said.

Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev shared plans to introduce AI in Kazakhstan. The specialized agency plans to develop educational platforms such as AI Movement and LMS, as well as to launch a national AI Olympics among schoolchildren. These measures will help form a professional community of AI specialists.

“We plan to provide computing power for the development of a national AI platform. This will become the basis for the creation of AI agents for state bodies, development of national language models, including KazLLM. The national AI platform will be available to work in the closed loop of state bodies, ensuring the security and confidentiality of data,” Madiyev said.

As early as 2025 it is planned to adopt a draft law regulating work in the field of AI. This year will also see the start of the development of the National AI Development Strategy - a comprehensive document defining priorities, goals and objectives for the development of AI technologies in Kazakhstan.

An important AI infrastructure facility will be the Alem.AI International Center in Astana. As Madiyev explains, the purpose of its creation is to introduce artificial intelligence into both the country’s economy and the everyday lives of Kazakhstan citizens.

By 2030 it is planned to train 1 million Kazakhstan people to work with artificial intelligence, including 500,000 schoolchildren, 300,000 students and 90,000 civil servants. The introduction of educational programs will create a generation of specialists ready for digital transformation.

At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry met with EDB Deputy Chairman Tigran Sargsyan and discussed cooperation on projects of the Digital Initiatives Fund, including the National Digital Investment Platform, the Astana transportation model and the risk management system in broadcasting. The Minister emphasized that the development of AI is a priority for the government, including the creation of a state AI platform and AI agents. EDB expressed its readiness to finance such projects, as well as to support venture initiatives.

In total, about 200 companies were presented at the Digital Almaty 2025 exhibition, including: young startups, IT giants, international technology parks, innovative projects, investors, and business representatives.

The forum concluded with a battle of startups with a $60,000 prize fund where young teams presented their innovative solutions. The winners of the main nominations, such as epsilon3ai, Finflow, arlan biotech and qala ai, were awarded with $15,000 prizes each. Special prizes from partners were also distributed among the finalists, including cloud services, advertising campaigns, residency in international hubs and $10 thousand from Kazakhtelecom.

The winners of the Digital Ministry Cup, a robotics tournament that became part of the FIRST Tech Challenge international championship, were also awarded. 24 best teams from Kazakhstan took part in the competition. The winner of the tournament was the Sana BIL team from Almaty, which received 1 million tenge. This tournament became an important step in popularization of STEM-education in Kazakhstan and opened new opportunities for young people in the field of technology. In February, Almaty will host the final stage of Almaty Tech Cup, which will determine the best teams from Central Asia to participate in the FIRST World championship in Houston.

About 25 memorandums of cooperation between companies and government agencies were signed during the forum. More than 150 business meetings and negotiations were also held, and we will be able to see their effect on the IT industry in the near future.

Digital Almaty 2025 once again confirmed its status as the key event in the field of digital technologies for the EAEU region and Central Asia, becoming a platform for sharing experience, discussing prospects and strengthening cooperation in the field of digitalization.

 

Press service of the Ministry of Digital Development,

Innovations and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan