The second cohort of the Hero Training program has garnered significant interest from entrepreneurs. A total of 129 applications were received from startups in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. All startups underwent a rigorous selection process, including screening and diagnostics stages.

Following the diagnostics of projects, 80 startups were selected to participate in the online pre-acceleration phase, "Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship," which lasted for two weeks. Afterward, only 12 were chosen to participate in the offline acceleration at Draper University, located in the heart of Silicon Valley: AlgoFarm, Prosper Pay, Loca, Pipedata AI, EZ FACTOR, Hired Valley, TrustMe, myMind, Oku Toku, WhoockAI, Oraclus, CheckAuto.

"Hero Training participants spend up to six months on the Draper University campus, where they are provided with accommodation and workspace. This time provides a unique opportunity for startups to attract investments and enter the American market, working under the guidance of experienced tech entrepreneurs and experts in the Draper University ecosystem. Graduates of the first cohort—15 startups, who went to California in May of this year, have successfully completed their training and are actively working on developing their products, attracting investments, and scaling their projects globally," noted Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of Astana Hub.

Draper University is a respected and long-established ecosystem in Silicon Valley, and Astana Hub became the first Central Asian technopark to launch a partnership program with it. Draper University's founder is venture capital pioneer Tim Draper, with 38 years of experience in venture business, 11 managed funds, $7 billion in managed funds volume, and 34 unicorn companies. Tim Draper recently visited Kazakhstan, where he met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, participated in the largest IT forum in Central Asia, Digital Bridge 2023, and filmed an episode of his startup reality show, "Meet the Drapers." As part of this program, a Kazakhstani startup was selected and is now preparing for the final of the show—competing for a $1 million investment.

"At Astana Hub, I met people who charged me with their energy. For me, it was a very interesting experience that opened my eyes to Kazakhstan, a country with tremendous potential. People here are well-educated and highly motivated. Indeed, Kazakhstan can become an IT hub for Central Asia," emphasized Tim Draper in his speech at Digital Bridge 2023.

Recall that in his recent address, "The Economic Course of Just Kazakhstan," the Head of State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, highlighted the strategic importance of transforming Kazakhstan into an IT country. He also set the task of achieving the export of IT services to $1 billion by 2026, and in this direction, the Hero Training program, along with the Scalerator and Silkway Accelerator programs, is one of the tools to achieve this goal. The collaboration agreement with Draper University was signed during the official visit of the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan, Bagdat Mussin, to the United States.

For more information about the exclusive Hero Training acceleration program and the participants of the first cohort, you can visit the Astana Hub platform.