As part of the joint project by Digital Business and Astana Hub, “100 Startup Stories of Central Asia,” Askhat explained why he decided to return to a technology startup, how MoonAI’s AI agents differ from other solutions on the market, and how the project managed to generate revenue from day one. We also learned how much of his own money he invested in the product and why he gifted an equity stake in the company to one of the investors.
— Askhat, in 2022 you shut down the EdTech project Terenoi. What did you do after that?
— I had accumulated extensive experience in sales, so for two years I worked in consulting, helping companies build and systematize their sales departments. In some projects, I acted as a consultant; in others, I built processes entirely from scratch. My portfolio includes around 150 companies.
Another area I was involved in was organizing business tours together with well-known Kazakh and international entrepreneurs.
— Why did you decide to take the risk again and launch a new project?
— There was a period when I was earning ten times more than during my first startup. But at the same time, I felt much happier in the venture space. I realized that what mattered more to me wasn’t money, but the opportunity to create something meaningful, pursue ambitious goals, and influence the world around me.
After Terenoi, I was searching for something that would truly ignite my passion. I didn’t want to just open another business for profit — I wanted to create an idea that could grow exponentially and develop according to the rules of the tech market.
— When did MoonAI come into the picture?
— In 2024, OpenAI released another model, GPT-4o. I tried it in real work and became fully convinced that artificial intelligence is a technology that truly changes the world.
At first, I wanted to solve my own pain point using AI. While organizing tours, we received a huge number of inquiries that were difficult to process quickly by hand. In addition, the average ticket price for a trip was £15,000, so we needed to qualify clients and immediately identify those who were genuinely interested and able to pay.
To address this, I created an AI agent that responded to inquiries 24/7 and filtered suitable leads. I then offered a similar bot to companies I was consulting. The feedback was positive, and by mid-2024 I fully focused on MoonAI.
— What problems can your agents solve for SMEs today?
— Initially, we focused on one of the biggest pain points for all businesses — missed inquiries, and as a result, customer churn. For example, one of our clients organized pilgrimages to Mecca. It turned out they received a huge number of leads at 3–4 a.m., during the morning prayer. That’s exactly when people feel the desire to perform Umrah (a minor pilgrimage involving a visit to Mecca, which can be performed at any time — Digital Business note). If the inquiry isn’t processed immediately and converted into a real client, the person may change their mind during the day or simply forget about the request amid daily activities.
Read more on Digitalbusiness.kz.
As part of the joint project by Digital Business and Astana Hub, “100 Startup Stories of Central Asia,” Askhat explained why he decided to return to a technology startup, how MoonAI’s AI agents differ from other solutions on the market, and how the project managed to generate revenue from day one. We also learned how much of his own money he invested in the product and why he gifted an equity stake in the company to one of the investors.
— Askhat, in 2022 you shut down the EdTech project Terenoi. What did you do after that?
— I had accumulated extensive experience in sales, so for two years I worked in consulting, helping companies build and systematize their sales departments. In some projects, I acted as a consultant; in others, I built processes entirely from scratch. My portfolio includes around 150 companies.
Another area I was involved in was organizing business tours together with well-known Kazakh and international entrepreneurs.
— Why did you decide to take the risk again and launch a new project?
— There was a period when I was earning ten times more than during my first startup. But at the same time, I felt much happier in the venture space. I realized that what mattered more to me wasn’t money, but the opportunity to create something meaningful, pursue ambitious goals, and influence the world around me.
After Terenoi, I was searching for something that would truly ignite my passion. I didn’t want to just open another business for profit — I wanted to create an idea that could grow exponentially and develop according to the rules of the tech market.
— When did MoonAI come into the picture?
— In 2024, OpenAI released another model, GPT-4o. I tried it in real work and became fully convinced that artificial intelligence is a technology that truly changes the world.
At first, I wanted to solve my own pain point using AI. While organizing tours, we received a huge number of inquiries that were difficult to process quickly by hand. In addition, the average ticket price for a trip was £15,000, so we needed to qualify clients and immediately identify those who were genuinely interested and able to pay.
To address this, I created an AI agent that responded to inquiries 24/7 and filtered suitable leads. I then offered a similar bot to companies I was consulting. The feedback was positive, and by mid-2024 I fully focused on MoonAI.
— What problems can your agents solve for SMEs today?
— Initially, we focused on one of the biggest pain points for all businesses — missed inquiries, and as a result, customer churn. For example, one of our clients organized pilgrimages to Mecca. It turned out they received a huge number of leads at 3–4 a.m., during the morning prayer. That’s exactly when people feel the desire to perform Umrah (a minor pilgrimage involving a visit to Mecca, which can be performed at any time — Digital Business note). If the inquiry isn’t processed immediately and converted into a real client, the person may change their mind during the day or simply forget about the request amid daily activities.
Read more on Digitalbusiness.kz.
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