Kazakh IT projects are attracting
investments. One successful commercialized startup is the contactless payment
system, Alaqan. This innovative platform enables transactions through palm vein
recognition using biometric technology. With 100,000 active users and $300,000
in investments, the domestic project underwent acceleration in Silicon Valley,
and is now successfully implemented in a school in Kazakhstan. The developers
have plans to scale the startup both domestically and internationally, having
already garnered interest from Southeast Asian countries, the Middle East, and
Türkiye. Another notable project is Arlan Biotech, gaining attention in the
medical and pharmaceutical sectors. With the help of artificial intelligence,
it focuses on creating nanobodies, which are used in the development of
diagnostic test systems and in the research and treatment of cancer and
autoimmune diseases. Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has recently familiarized
himself with domestic startup projects. He discussed with industry experts the
prospects for increasing the commercialization of scientific projects and
strengthening collaboration with the real sector of the economy. It is worth
reminding that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has set a task to bring the
annual export of IT services and products to $1 billion by 2026.
“According to the Head of State, Kazakhstan
should become an IT country. Astana Hub Technopark is actively supporting IT
talents and startups. Currently, we have 1,400 IT companies registered as
residents, with a revenue of 400 billion tenge generated in 2023. Notably, 120
of these companies specialize in artificial intelligence,” said Astana Hub’s founding
CEO Magzhan Madiyev.
