On October 3, the AI & Digital Bridge 2026 international technology forum concluded in Astana. The final day featured a technology exhibition, sessions on human capital and creative industries, the signing of memoranda, the Astana Hub Battle final, and the award ceremony for the winners of the AI & Digital Bridge Awards 2026.
The forum’s key positioning this year—Kazakhstan is the Eurasian AI Hub—reflects the country’s focus on developing its own technology ecosystem, attracting international expertise and investment, training specialists, and creating conditions for the growth of AI companies.
AI & Digital Bridge 2026 took place from October 1 to 3 at the EXPO International Exhibition Centre in Astana. The forum brought together representatives of government agencies, international technology companies, investors, startups, universities, and research centres to discuss the development of artificial intelligence and the digital economy.
One of the key events of the final day was a plenary session featuring Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov. During his address, he emphasized the importance of further scaling technologies that have already proven their effectiveness.
“At the opening of the forum, Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that the development of new technologies has become an integral part of a rapidly changing era. Kazakhstan has already established the necessary legal framework for the widespread adoption of AI. Digital infrastructure is developing at an accelerated pace. The Data Center Valley megaproject is currently under active construction—Central Asia’s largest campus, with an energy capacity of up to 1 GW. These data centers will serve as the foundation for the development of artificial intelligence, cloud services, scientific research, and new digital industries. We are open to cooperation with global technology companies,” Olzhas Bektenov noted.
The plenary session also featured Sebastian Kurz, President of DREAM; Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding Corp.; Jamie Beaton, Founder of Crimson Education; and Alexander Mashrabov, CEO of Higgsfield AI.
The final day’s business program focused on human capital development, artificial intelligence in education, technology entrepreneurship, global startup scaling, and the application of AI in creative industries.
One of the key sessions of the third day was “AI-Sana as a Driver of Transformation: From Competencies to AI Products.” The session was moderated by Pavel Kokyshev, Co-Founder and CEO of MOST Holding. The panel discussion brought together Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Nhi Le, Partner at Alpha Intelligence Capital and Founding Partner at Mariton Partners; Nariman Mukushev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Halyk Bank; and Beibitkul Karimova, Chairwoman of the Management Board and Rector of the Kazakh National Women’s Teacher Training University.
The role of a new generation of scientists, engineers, and technology entrepreneurs in shaping the economy of the future was the focus of the session “Talent Economy 2035: Who Will Build New Industries?”. The discussion featured Pegor Papazian, Development Director at TUMO Center for Creative Technologies; Anna Fokina, General Manager and CFO of Firebird in Kazakhstan; and Alex Mashrabov, Co-Founder and CEO of Higgsfield AI.
The international scaling of technology companies was the focus of the session “How Can AI Startups from Central Eurasia Move from Local Validation to Global Enterprise Growth?”. The session was moderated by Asset Abdualiyev, Founder and CEO of Silkroad Innovation Hub. The panel discussion brought together Chris Joannou, Vice President of Venture Ecosystem at Draper University; Ian Bergman, CEO of Alchemist Accelerator; Sanzhar Rakhmetzhanov, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Armeta; Ivan Belokhvostikov, Founder and CEO of Cybernet AI; and Darsh Singh Mann, Head of Business Development and Partnerships at StartX.
A separate block of the third day was dedicated to the application of artificial intelligence in film and the creative industries.
Participants in the session “The Future of Live: Music, Concerts, and AI” discussed the intersection of music, concert formats, and artificial intelligence, viewing AI not as a replacement for humans, but as a tool and creative partner. The session was moderated by Azat Abyken, Producer and CEO of Green Case Group. The speakers included Sandugash Rakhimzhanova, Director of TV+ Kazakhtelecom; Konstantin Golovin, General Producer of Pantograph and The Spirit of Tengri; Dulat Mukhamedkaliev, member of the Ninety One group, Founder of the ArtJaq creative agency, producer, and songwriter; and Aidyn Aidyngali, CPO of Freedom Music.
At the session “AAIFF – The Future of AI Filmmaking,” participants discussed the capabilities of AI and traditional approaches to filmmaking, as well as their respective advantages and features. The session was moderated by Aizat Kussainov, Co-Founder and Creative Director of the AAIFF Foundation. The speakers included Ping Ma, Dean of the AI Research Institute at China Film Group; Almas Zhali, Founder and Chairman of the AAIFF Foundation; Audrey Azoulay, former Minister of Culture of France and former Director-General of UNESCO; and Robert Gaudette, AAIFF finalist, AI creator, and director.
One of the notable events of AI & Digital Bridge 2026 was the Astana AI Film Festival, the first international competition for films created using artificial intelligence. The competition received more than 8,000 entries from 125 countries, with participants from the United States, India, China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, France, and other countries presenting their works.
Exhibition: From Robots to an AI University
The exhibition program was one of the central elements of AI & Digital Bridge 2026. It featured more than 90 startups in Startup Alley, 49 IT companies, and 50 individual booths and pavilions. The exhibition was divided into four thematic zones—Robotics, Art, GameDev, and Vibe Coding—while Startup Alley served as a dedicated platform for showcasing startup products and developments.
As part of the final day of AI & Digital Bridge 2026, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov was presented with Qazaq AI Research University’s (QAIRU) AI solution for video and audio analytics of the educational process, an AI tutor, and tools for analyzing educational progress. In the financial sector, the products presented included the Kasper AI assistant, Halyk Bank’s AI model, and Freedom Holding’s AI-Compliance platform. In the industrial sector, these included KMG’s digital twin and KTZ’s SMART diagnostics using artificial intelligence technologies from the Samruk-Kazyna group of companies. Other digital products for various sectors were also presented, including Alem AI Platform, QazBot Technologies, Trusted Kazakhstan, and QazEta.
Additionally, on October 3, 21 memoranda and agreements were signed at the forum in the fields of technology, investment, education, and international cooperation.
These included agreements and memoranda between Astana Hub and United Ventures, Kazpost JSC and Ailat Holding, Alem.ai Endowment and ChangeSchool, Kazakhtelecom JSC and Network School, and Qazaq AI Research University and the Til-Kazyna National Scientific and Practical Center, as well as agreements on technology transfer, healthcare digitalization, cybersecurity, environmental monitoring, sports, and artificial intelligence.
As part of the third day of AI & Digital Bridge 2026, a workshop for journalists was held on the use of artificial intelligence in daily newsroom operations—from information retrieval and document analysis to content preparation and editing.
Competitions and Awards
On the final day of the forum, the winners of the annual AI & Digital Bridge Awards 2026 were announced. The awards recognize projects, companies, and teams that have contributed to the development of artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and digital transformation.
The awards were presented to the winners by Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov.
In 2026, awards were presented in seven categories:
- GovTech Project of the Year — eGov.GPT, National Information Technologies JSC;
- EdTech Project of the Year — GoPrep, Aleem Labs LLP;
- Startup of the Year — Rette (Defect AI);
- Corporate AI – Transformation of the Year — Aventa, QazCode;
- International Breakthrough of the Year — Higgsfield AI, Higgsfield Ltd.;
- VC of the Year — MA7 Ventures;
- Creative Industry Project of the Year — ōzen, OZEN XO LLP.
Additionally, the final day of the forum hosted the Astana Hub Battle 2026 final. The final jury included Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan; Alex Mashrabov, CEO of Higgsfield AI; Bagdat Mussin, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhtelecom JSC; Shervin Pishevar, Investor in SpaceX and Founder of Sofreh Capital; and Murat Abdrakhmanov, Founder of the MA7 Ventures venture ecosystem.
Four startups won the competition, each receiving $25,000:
- CYBERPACK.AI won in the Impact Maker category;
- NCSpeech won in the Market Shaper category;
- Astana Dynamics won in the Growth Engine category;
- Aman – won in the Investor’s Choice.
In addition, Aman received an additional grant of $200,000 from MA7 Ventures. Furthermore, competition partners provided technology resources to individual teams: Pulsar AI received cloud resources worth KZT 10 million from Yandex Kazakhstan, while M3TRIQ received GPU resources worth $25,000 from Kazakhtelecom.
The forum concluded with performances by special guests: Kazakh artist and songwriter Sadraddin, known for his signature style blending modern sound with elements of Kazakh musical culture, and Kazakh artist and Ninety One group member ZAQ (Dulat Mukhametkaliev).
About AI & Digital Bridge 2026
The forum is organized by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana Hub, and the Akimat of Astana.
AI & Digital Bridge 2026 is made possible through the support of the forum’s partners and sponsors. All forum expenses are covered by sponsorship funds. Gold Partners: Freedom Bank, Kaspi Bank, Samruk-Kazyna JSC, and Kazakhtelecom JSC. Silver Partner: Halyk Bank. Business Partner: Beeline Kazakhstan. Bronze Partner: Yandex Qazaqstan. Technology Partner: Transtelecom JSC. Official Airline Partner: Air Astana.
