2025 has become a turning point in Kazakhstan’s digital transformation. In his state-of-the-nation address this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev set a strategic goal to transform the country into a fully-fledged digital state within the next three years. A key milestone was the adoption of Central Asia’s first law on artificial intelligence. In addition, a dedicated ministry was established, and the international artificial intelligence center Alem.AI was launched. The center focuses on advancing digital technologies in science, industry, the creative sector, and public services. The national supercomputer also began operating, ranking 86th on the global list of the world’s most powerful computing systems. Alem.Cloud can process vast amounts of data and train neural networks.
«The first major computing capacities have been launched and are now available to universities, startups, companies, government agencies, and research institutes. These resources allow them to train AI products and perform fine-tuning—that is, to launch, improve, and refine their models. Large Kazakh language models have already been trained on this supercomputing infrastructure. Why is this important? It is crucial for digital sovereignty,» said Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development.
The Head of State set a target of increasing IT exports to $1 billion by 2026. However, according to the relevant ministry, this target was reached ahead of schedule. This year, more than 100 Kazakh startups have entered international markets. Astana Hub plays a key role in promoting and supporting these projects. The hub hosts around 2,000 IT companies, 500 of which involve foreign participation.
«We operate the program in collaboration with Google for Startups in Kazakhstan and across the Eurasian region, covering around eight countries. We run accelerator programs with Draper University, a leading venture university in Silicon Valley, and work with a top B2B accelerator, AlchemistX. We also have partner hubs in other countries—not only in Silicon Valley, but also in the UK. This year, we opened hubs in the UAE and China, actively expanding across the market,» said Astana Hub Managing Director Jambul Makhmetov.
Kazakhstan is strengthening its position in AI. The country ranked 60th out of 195 in the Government AI Readiness Index. According to a study by the international analytical center Oxford Insights, Kazakhstan climbed 16 positions in just one year, becoming the regional leader in Central Asia. The country has thus confirmed its status as a digital leader in the region. Additionally, Kazakhstan has entered the global top 10 for the quality of online public services. In 2025 alone, Kazakh citizens received more than 51 million services through the e-government portal. Overall, around 90% of public services in the country are now available online.
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