Tokayev Meets Kazakh IT Founders: AI, Venture Capital, and a Faster Path to Global Scale
ALMATY - On Jan. 28, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with Erzat Dulat, technical director at Higgsfield AI, and Murat Abdrakhmanov, founder of MA7 Ventures. The discussion focused on bringing AI into the economy, public services, and social programs, and accelerating the country's venture and startup scene.
Photo credit: Akorda.
Key signals for builders
Tokayev praised Higgsfield AI's progress and made the intent clear: Kazakhstan should be a place where IT companies launch fast, scale efficiently, and go global. Dulat noted that roughly 95% of Higgsfield AI's team are Kazakh specialists-evidence that local talent is ready for bigger bets. He also committed to partnering with the state on AI workforce development and joint educational initiatives.
Abdrakhmanov highlighted the role of venture capital as a practical engine for technological growth. His message: Kazakhstan has a window to participate meaningfully in the global VC market-if founders, investors, and policymakers move in sync.
What this could mean in practice
- Public-sector pilots: Expect more AI proof-of-concepts in government workflows, citizen services, and compliance-heavy areas.
- Faster startup formation: Policy and infrastructure aimed at cutting time from idea to product to export.
- Talent pipelines: State-industry partnerships to upskill engineers, data scientists, and MLOps specialists.
- Capital access: Stronger local venture networks and on-ramps for foreign LPs and co-investors.
- Data and compute: Potential focus on secure datasets, model training access, and GPU capacity planning.
Action items for founders and engineers
- Line up use cases that reduce cost or time in regulated environments (identity, procurement, inspections, benefits, public safety).
- Design for deployment: observability, model governance, audit trails, data minimization, and fallback workflows.
- Prioritize multilingual and Kazakh-first interfaces and models to improve adoption and measurable outcomes.
- Build export-ready products: clear pricing, APIs, SOC 2/ISO paths, and localized support for target markets.
- Engage early with venture platforms and corporate buyers to shorten validation cycles.
Why the talent commitment matters
Having a company like Higgsfield AI staffed primarily by local specialists reduces the usual friction-time zones, language gaps, and brain drain. Pair that with a national push for AI training, and you get a steady loop: education fuels startups, startups create mentors, mentors raise the ceiling for the next cohort.
If you're building or hiring in Kazakhstan, this is a nudge to formalize your talent pipeline. Internships, capstone projects, and junior-to-mid mentorship tracks will pay off faster in this environment.
Where to watch for updates
Official readouts and policy notes typically appear on Akorda. For an international view on AI policy trends relevant to compliance and deployment, see the OECD AI Policy Observatory.
Upskilling for the new demand
With state-industry training partnerships on the table, teams that move first will have an edge. If you need structured learning paths for engineers, PMs, or data teams, explore role-based tracks here: AI Courses by Job.
Bottom line: Kazakhstan is positioning itself as a launchpad for AI companies. If you're building, this is a window to secure pilots, talent, and funding-then ship products that can compete beyond the region.
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