More than 10 Kazakh IT startups have begun a five-week accelerator program in Silicon Valley in the U.S. that was launched as part of cooperation between the Astana Hub International Technopark and Draper University. Startup founders from Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia will also receive new knowledge and skills under the training program. 80 out of 200 submitted projects were chosen in the first stage following a thorough selection process. They underwent a two-week online pre-accelerator program, at the end of which only 15 projects were chosen to go to the world innovation center in the U.S. The participants will not only undergo an intensive training program but will also have the opportunity to attract investment and scale their projects to global markets.
“Mostly, these are companies developing projects in many different fields, including artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and virtual reality. Others produce 3D printers or special medical equipment for research purposes. Overall, these are all diverse and very promising projects that work according to cutting-edge trends,” said Astana Hub Managing Director Abay Absamet.
To date, over 1,100 companies are registered at the Astana Hub, around 200 of which are represented by non-residents of Kazakhstan. The total income of the international technology park’s participants has amounted to $1.2 billion over the past five years.
