The program is results-based: at each checkpoint, the team confirms a concrete outcome instead of going through a formal entry-stage evaluation.
Each team is supported by a dedicated mentor, a technical mentor, and a head tracker. Program partners provide access to expertise, pilot sites, and industry context.
The incubator is designed for teams working on hardware, engineering development, and applied digital systems.
The team is formed, conducts customer discovery, and moves from hypotheses to a clear problem statement. Kick-off, co-founder matching, Jobs-to-Be-Done, and interview synthesis.
Solution design and the track’s regulatory landscape, AI prototyping, development sprints, Agile for hardware startups, finding first users, and MVP user testing.
Legal setup, business model, meetings with corporate partners, Validation Day, GTM strategy, financial model, pitch architecture, fundraising, and Demo Day.
Within this track, you will get access to partner labs and robots, as well as mentoring support for prototyping and engaging industry customers.
Individual applicants and early-stage startups with a technical solution in smart devices and robotics, unmanned systems, or cybersecurity can apply.
No. At the start, a prototype or a hypothesis the team is ready to validate is enough. A working MVP is required by week 9, at checkpoint 2.
The program is held onsite at Astana Hub with online support between sessions. Access to labs and equipment requires the team to be regularly present on site.
The team exits the main incubation track and does not participate in Demo Day. This does not prevent further work with the Astana Hub ecosystem, but program resources are reallocated to teams that are progressing on schedule.
The working language and organizational details are shared with participants during the recruitment and onboarding stages.
Applications for the cohort are open. There are 50 spots, and the first checkpoint takes place four weeks after the start.
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