Held at Silicon Valley’s iconic Yerba Buena Arts Center—the very stage where Apple’s Steve Jobs first introduced the iPhone and iPad—the conference attracted the top 100 startups from Central Eurasia, alongside entrepreneurs from the region, American venture investors, leaders of major tech companies, professors and students from leading U.S. universities, and many others.

With over 1,500 participants and more than 50 speakers, the lineup included high-ranking officials from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Azerbaijan, Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda, Unshackled Ventures founder and partner Nitin Pachisia, Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Ilya Strebulaev, and other experts from institutions like Minerva University and UC Berkeley.

Conference organizers emphasized the untapped potential of Central Eurasia. With a population of 100 million and an average age of 27, the region produces around 200,000 STEM graduates annually, supported by a growing startup ecosystem, universities, venture funds, and the Silicon Valley-based Silkroad Innovation Hub. In its first year, the hub attracted 80 resident startups that collectively secured over $30 million in investment.

“It’s time to put our region on the global tech map!” declared the founders of the Silkroad Innovation Hub.

Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry, Zhaslan Madiyev, highlighted that Kazakhstan alone accounts for 50% of Central Eurasia’s GDP. He cited Kazakhstan’s notable achievements, such as ranking 10th in the UN Global Online Services Index and 3rd in the Global Innovation Index among Central and South Asian countries, behind only Iran and India. Madiyev also pointed to Astana Hub, chosen as a regional base by tech giants like Telegram, Epam, and inDrive, as a model of success.

Madiyev outlined additional government initiatives, including the launch of a digital nomad visa and improved internet access. He described the next major national program, scheduled for 2024–2029, as focused on artificial intelligence, especially for the public sector, through the National Center Alem.ai.

“New technologies, AI, blockchain, and game development are all driving the market, inspiring entrepreneurs to create startups. Seeing success stories of startups that secure venture funding, go public, and reach multi-billion-dollar valuations is great motivation for entrepreneurs,” said Madiyev.

Madiyev acknowledged the challenges facing Kazakhstani entrepreneurs, noting that while local investors are prepared to invest $100,000–$200,000 at the early stages, securing $1–2 million at a more mature stage remains difficult. He stressed the importance of promoting Kazakhstani startups abroad, especially in Silicon Valley.

“We’re confident that in the near future, we’ll see major international startup companies—true unicorns—emerge from our region,” added Madiyev.

Asset Abdualiyev, founder of the Silkroad Innovation Hub, commented that while Central Eurasia’s startup ecosystem may not be as advanced as in other regions, they are witnessing significant growth.

“Our conference has provided a platform to introduce these future global founders to Silicon Valley. America is the largest market, and I encourage our startups to be bold, persevere, and enter global markets,” said Abdualiyev.

The Central Eurasia at Silicon Valley conference was held with support from Freedom Holding, in partnership with Astana Hub and IT Park Uzbekistan. inDrive was also a partner, represented by its founder, Arsen Tomsky.

For reference:

Central Eurasia, encompassing Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, is a region with a population of over 100 million people, a combined GDP of $400 billion, and national reserves totaling $90 billion. The region holds approximately 2% of the world’s oil reserves and 7.5% of global natural gas reserves.

Silkroad Innovation Hub was founded in 2023 in Palo Alto, USA, by Aset Abdualiyev from Kazakhstan and Asror Arabjanov from Uzbekistan. This organization is dedicated to supporting startups and entrepreneurs from Central Eurasia as they create or expand their businesses in Silicon Valley and the U.S. market.

Source: https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mdai/press/news/details/872019?lang=ru