Digital Qazaqstan 2026 Outcomes: Kazakhstan Consolidates Its Status as Central Eurasia's Digital Leader
The international digital forum Digital Qazaqstan 2026 - the key platform for discussing the country's technological and AI transformation - concluded in Shymkent. The event, held on 27 March, brought together representatives of government agencies, business, international corporations, investors, technology companies, and the expert community under the overarching theme "Industry 5.0: The Power of Collaboration."
The forum demonstrated a high level of engagement from the professional community and confirmed sustained interest in the country's technology and AI agenda, attracting 6,000 participants. The platform showcased 40 IT companies and 36 startups, including qTwin, Qutty Band, Biometric.Vision, MedicusUnion Kazakhstan, AG TECH, BEST Vision Technologies, Warden X, Alaqan, Cybernet AI, Cortex AI, AgrioPro, AI HUB, and AIS Digital Ltd., all presenting relevant technology solutions and developments.
A landmark event of the forum was the address by Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, who outlined the key priorities for the development of the digital economy and artificial intelligence. The head of government emphasised that Kazakhstan is transitioning to a new economic model in which AI becomes a driver of growth, efficiency, and technological sovereignty.
The Prime Minister also noted that Kazakhstan is building an ecosystem through the development of institutions, infrastructure, and human capital. A legislative framework has been adopted and the AI Development Council under the President of the country is in operation. The region's largest supercomputer clusters - Alem.Cloud and AL Farabium - have been deployed and are included in the global TOP-500 ranking. A fully-fledged educational ecosystem is being developed, from TUMO school centres to the training of technology entrepreneurs. "We invite international companies to open their research hubs here," stressed Olzhas Bektenov.
The forum was attended by the heads of government of EAEU member states and international partners, confirming the high level of international dialogue and cementing Kazakhstan's role as a key digital hub of Central Eurasia.
The business programme brought together more than 150 speakers and included 54 sessions covering the development of artificial intelligence, the digital transformation of economic sectors, industrial AI, the startup ecosystem, talent development, and emerging technology trends — forming a coherent agenda for the development of the country's digital economy. Forum speakers included Freedom Holding Corp. CEO Timur Turlov, Kazakhtelecom JSC Board Chairman Bagdat Musin, and Alageum Electric Group CEO Yerkebulан Ilyasov. The programme also featured MA7 Ventures founder Murat Abdrakhmanov, Yandex Kazakhstan CEO Timur Shalеkenov, Booking.com developer Narikbi Maksut, Google developer Aman Utemuratov, and Meta developer Bakhytzhan Baizhikenov.
More than 20 investors participated in the forum, strengthening its investment dimension and creating additional opportunities for attracting funding and scaling technology projects.
By the close of the forum, 11 memoranda and agreements had been signed aimed at developing technologies and strengthening cooperation between the state and business. The agreements reached form the basis for the implementation of new projects, attracting investment, and the further development of the digital economy in Kazakhstan's regions.
One of the key events of the forum was the launch of the country's largest multi-location hackathon — Decentrathon 5.0 — which brought together more than 3,000 developers from 20 cities across Kazakhstan.
Opening the competition, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev noted: "Digital Qazaqstan 2026 confirmed that we have moved from debating concepts to the stage of large-scale technology deployment. The launch of Decentrathon 5.0 is a vivid example of the formation of the country's powerful intellectual core. Our task is to create an environment where talent from any region has access to computing capacity to create global products. We are building a data economy in which technological sovereignty is ensured through the synergy of the state, the creative energy of startups, and the expertise of international partners."
The forum also served as a platform for the development of technology entrepreneurship. The Digital Qazaqstan Battle national startup competition was held within Digital Qazaqstan 2026, in which the 20 best projects from every region of the country presented their solutions before investors and an expert jury. The prize fund totalled 19 million tenge. The winner was startup Gro.now, second place went to Cortex AI, third to AR Sana, and the audience choice award went to Qalam AI. The final confirmed the high calibre of regional teams and their readiness to create products with the potential to scale nationally and internationally.
A separate forum event was the Digital Qazaqstan Awards ceremony, which recognised the best projects in the field of artificial intelligence and digital technologies. Winners were: Alaqan in the Best AI Government Services category; Aspans in Best Industrial AI Project; Ikigai Promotion in Regional AI Transformation; Codo in AI for Social Impact; and Protector AI in Best AI Startup. The award demonstrated the practical deployment of AI solutions and their contribution to the development of the economy, the social sphere, and public administration.
The forum also served as a platform for building an ecosystem of outstanding developers from the Central Asian region. The Central Asia Programming Championship 2026, with a prize fund of 3 million tenge, was held jointly with the Sports Programming Federation and Alem.ai Foundation, with the support of Higgsfield and Khan Group. The championship brought together 33 of the region's best programmers. First place went to Farkhod Khakimjon from Tajikistan, second to Aybar Kuanyshbay (Kazakhstan), and third to Altair Ashurov (Kazakhstan) — underscoring the high level of engineering training in the region. As part of STEM education development and the preparation of the next generation of engineers, the Digital Qazaqstan FIRST Championship was held jointly with USTEM Foundation, with a prize fund of 2 million tenge. Participants designed, assembled, and programmed robotics solutions. The championship was won by teams KAP and TGJ, with North Star and Panheya as finalists.
In addition to the business programme, the forum featured a rich programme of technology activities: drone soccer competitions, robotics championships, and interactive demonstrations, allowing participants to see technologies in action and boosting audience engagement.
Digital Qazaqstan 2026 marked Kazakhstan's transition to a new stage of development, where digital technologies and artificial intelligence are becoming the systemic foundation of the economy, public administration, and regional growth. The forum confirmed the country's readiness not only to adopt advanced solutions but also to shape its own technology agenda, bringing together the state, business, and the international community around practical tasks and long-term partnerships.
The forum was organised by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Shymkent city administration, and the international innovation cluster Astana Hub. This year, the organisation of the forum was made possible through the support of partners and sponsors, with all costs covered by sponsorship funds.
General partner of the forum - Freedom Bank - a Kazakhstani digital bank for private and corporate clients, part of Freedom Holding Corp. The bank was the first in Kazakhstan to digitalise mortgage, car, and business loans, and issued the country's first INVEST CARD investor card.
Platinum partner -Alageum Electric - a major electrical engineering group of companies in Kazakhstan, uniting more than 30 enterprises in the fields of electric power, mechanical engineering, and infrastructure construction.
Gold partner -Kazakhtelecom. Innovation partners - WSE, Damumed. Partner -Visa. Partners of the Central Asia Programming Championship - Higgsfield, Khan Group. Robotics zone partner - USTEM Foundation. Digital creative industries zone partner - Alliance of Creative Industries. Media partners - leading national and industry media outlets providing extensive media coverage of the forum and reaching the key target audience.