Central Asia’s largest tech and AI show will debut in Almaty next week, catapulting Kazakhstan to the forefront of the region’s AI and digital transformation ambitions, and propelling a new era of global innovation, tech capital deployment, and cross-border collaboration.

In the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, GITEX AI Kazakhstan, from 4-5 May 2026 at the Atakent International Exhibition Centre (AIEC), will converge policymakers, enterprise tech titans, startups and investors from more than 60 nations, accelerating momentum to fast-track Central Asia and the Caucasus into a position of global tech leadership.

Under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, GITEX AI Kazakhstan is hosted by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, in partnership with Astana Hub and the Akimat of Almaty.

The landmark event is organised by inD, the global organiser of GITEX, bringing the world’s largest and most influential tech event platform to the heart of Eurasia. It arrives as Kazakhstan powers ahead as the world’s fastest growing tech ecosystem, at 18-times over the last seven years to generate US$26 billion in value.

GITEX AI Kazakhstan in Almaty sits at the intersection of this innovation dynamism, uniting more 300 tech enterprises and startups, 150 expert speakers, and 100 investors, creating the most strategic platform for global market access, business collaborations and dialogues advancing the region’s priorities in sovereign AI, governance, digital infrastructure and investment, and talent development.

At a media briefing ahead of the show’s debut, government partners and ecosystem leaders set out their ambitions for the region’s AI and digital future, as final preparations gather pace for what promises to be a defining moment for Central Asian tech.

Smagulov Olzhas, Deputy Akim of Almaty City, said: “Almaty is the primary hub of Kazakhstan's IT industry, home to approximately one-third of all IT companies in the country, which account for 52% of the total volume of IT services provided. The city continues to strengthen its position as a magnet for startups, investment, and innovation. GITEX AI Kazakhstan reinforces Almaty’s role as a natural hub for the ideas, capital, and partnerships shaping our digital future.”

Daniya Akhmetova, CEO Digital Bridge, Astana Hub, said: “The hosting of GITEX AI Kazakhstan 2026 as a premier global technology platform, coupled with Astana Hub's role as a co-organizer, unlocks a wealth of opportunities for Kazakhstan's tech ecosystem. This initiative facilitates direct access to international markets, attracts vital investment and global partnerships, and enables the transfer of advanced technologies and specialized expertise. As a result, projects will experience accelerated growth and national solutions will achieve broader adoption, fostering the sustainable development of the industry while strengthening Kazakhstan’s global competitiveness.”

A region at the centre of global AI and digital infrastructure progress

With mobile internet penetration across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as high as 93 percent, the region has become fertile ground for telecoms, cloud and digital infrastructure leaders. Kazakhstan is leading this charge, with data centre capacity reaching hyperscale level, from approximately 4,000 IT racks in 2025, to 20,000 racks by 2030, comprising 180-plus MW capacity.

This massive AI compute and digital infrastructure buildout means tech leaders worldwide view Kazakhstan as a strategic base for cross-border investments, amplified at GITEX AI Kazakhstan 2026 by the participation of global tech enterprises from China, Germany, the USA, Türkiye, the UK, and the UAE, France, and India.

Infrastructure leaders including Cisco, Cloudflare, Dell, Google Cloud, H3C Technologies, Trend Micro, Hikvision, HP, Huawei, Lenovo, Noventiq, Redington, Salesforce, Vertiv, and Yandex, are among the headline participants this year. GITEX AI Kazakhstan is accelerating sovereign AI deployment and market entry in the region, with tech titans bringing real systems to market, from Dell’s AI Factory for government-scale AI; Cisco’s secure, air-gapped national infrastructure; or Huawei’s advancement of GovTech 1.0, AI infrastructure standards and large-scale deployment.

That global participation is matched by the largest gathering of Kazakhstan tech powerhouses under one roof, including Kazakhtelecom, the state-owned telco titan commanding over 60 % of Kazakhstan’s market; Kcell, the nation’s largest mobile operator, co-pioneering Kazakhstan’s first 5G network; Beeline, Kazakhstan’s only major independent mobile operator, powered by VEON; and Akashi Data Center, Astana’s Tier IV data centre, the first and largest in Eurasia. 

UAE-based Presight, meanwhile, a leading global AI company building intelligent systems for governments and critical infrastructure, will spearhead cross-border collaboration. Magzhan Kenesbai, Chief Growth Officer of Presight, said: “For Presight, Kazakhstan is a long-term, strategic growth market where we are working as the AI partner for government, supported by a local team of more than 60 people on ground.

“Central Asia represents a high growth opportunity, and GITEX AI Kazakhstan is an important platform to deepen existing relationships and build new partnerships that can translate into sustained and large-scale deployment over time.”

Global investor capital converges at Central Asia’s startup frontier

More than 100 active accelerator projects are now shaping Kazakhstan’s AI startup ecosystem, while VC investment has surged more than fivefold between 2023-2025, a milestone year that also produced the nation’s first AI unicorn, Higgsfield.

That sharp upward trajectory will be accelerated at GITEX AI Kazakhstan 2026, where investors from 28 countries with a combined US$200 billion in AUM (assets under management) will ramp up the great Central Asian VC AI start-up investment wave.  

VCs such as Punch Capital (USA), Creww (Japan), Enhance Ventures (UAE), IDA Capital (Turkey), and Adagia Partners (France), alongside European representation from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, and Spain, will be out in force to explore emerging frontier tech opportunities with 100+ startups, including 51 founder-led participants from Astana Hub and IT Park Uzbekistan.

GITEX AI Kazakhstan positions the region as a launchpad for next-generation technology companies, with startups from Kazakhstan and across Central Asia delivering real-world, export-ready deep-tech solutions, including TalkIT, LUMI AI by ASPEX, PanDev.io, Alaqan, RTEAM and THRUST.kz, fast-tracking the transition to an export-driven innovation economy

Sturgeon Capital, a London-based VC and Private Equity firm is among the 65 percent of investors at GITEX AI Kazakhstan 2026 with international headquarters. Kiyan Zandiyeh, CIO and Partner said he’s long believed that emerging markets – precisely because they're underserved by global capital – offer compelling returns.  “We have to date invested in 39 companies across Central Asia,” said Mr. Zandiyeh.

“The region is one of the most exciting and yet overlooked VC markets in the world: large, young, and digitally native populations rapidly adopting new technologies. The global recognition of companies such as Kaspi and Higgsfield has put Kazakhstan firmly on the map, and GITEX AI Kazakhstan is a fantastic opportunity to connect with the local decision-makers, co-investors and policymakers shaping the region’s digital economy.”

Murat Abdrakhmanov, Founder of MA7 VC, which backs early-stage tech startups globally, is another prominent investor and expert speaker at GITEX AI Kazakhstan: “The future belongs to AI-driven or AI-native startups with global ambition,” said Mr. Abdrakhmanov. “Kazakhstan and Central Asia have all the ingredients to produce far more of these startups and future AI unicorns, making GITEX AI Kazakhstan a genuine opportunity for the world to engage early on the potential returns.”

From sovereign AI to smart cities: A defining agenda shaping a digital decade

Across two days, GITEX AI Kazakhstan will convene Central Asia’s most ambitious policy, technology and investment conversations under one roof, converging more than 150 expert speakers in a power-packed conference agenda.

The Diversification Summit will bring together ministers and senior policymakers to chart sovereign digital strategies and industrial AI roadmaps for the decade ahead, while dedicated tracks on Applied AI, Future Finance and Digital Assets, Data Centres, Cybersecurity, Smart Energy and AI-Ready Cities will drive cross-sector dialogue on the technologies reshaping the region’s economy.

The NXT Stage will put Central Asia’s startup opportunity centre stage, uniting founders, investors, and policymakers to accelerate startup growth, digital finance, smart cities, industrial innovation, and AI-driven human capital development.

H.E. Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan, will headline alongside H.E. Baya Kvitsiani, Deputy Minister Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia; Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of 01.AI and one of the most influential AI voices globally, joins Mansoor Al Mansoori, CEO of G42 International, Thomas Pramotedham, CEO of Presight, and Charles-Edouard Bouée of Alpha Intelligence Capital, alongside senior government leaders from Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and across the Caucasus.

Bilal Al Rais, Vice President, Portfolio Growth Tech & Digital at inD, global organiser of GITEX, said: “Central Asia and the Caucasus are already outperforming many conventional expectations of emerging markets. In an era marked by strategic recalibration, this region is demonstrating a remarkable coherence of purpose, connecting human capital, digital readiness and national ambition into something the world can no longer afford to overlook.

“GITEX AI Kazakhstan turbocharges this momentum, bringing together tech titans, startups, investors, policymakers and pioneers to accelerate what is already unstoppable, and cement Central Asia’s claim on the future architecture of the global AI and tech economy.”

More information about GITEX AI Kazakhstan is available here.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/maidd/press/news/details/1210536?lang=kk