Among the top finalists are Kazakh startups ab.ai, Alaqan, Beksar, biny.co, Car Parking Multiplayer, CheckDoc, Courstore, Grand Mobile, kook, Prometei, and WeGlobal.ai. Joining them are the Uzbek projects Al Chiroq and UYSOT, the Kyrgyz startup Neobis, and Lambda Global from Mongolia.

At the traditional Opening Day, participants presented their projects and shared their scaling plans. The event featured the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, Zhaslan Madiyev, Google for Startups experts Askar Aytuov and Olga Skorokhodova, the program's lead tracker Dmitry Beznosyuk, and representatives of the Kazakhstani tech community.

"I would like to thank our partners, Google for Startups, for this large-scale and important initiative for Kazakhstan, our entrepreneurs, and startups. The program has impressive statistics: over 1,300 projects accelerated, around 50 startups valued at more than $400 million, and total investments attracted by participants amounting to $26 million. This is a huge result, and I think it's just the beginning. As a ministry, we strive to support such initiatives and provide all the necessary infrastructure to organize and sustain this program," said Zhaslan Madiyev, head of the MDDIAI.

At the opening ceremony of the fifth batch, Olga Skorokhodova, Head of Interaction with Providing Power in Central Asia and the Caucasus at Google, emphasized that the Silkway Accelerator, in partnership with Astana Hub, is the leading program among all those conducted in Central Asia.

"We may be idealists, but we believe that technology should be used to solve the social and economic problems we all face today. We are very grateful for our partnership with colleagues from Astana Hub. We are confident that Kazakhstan and Central Asia have all the advantages to become leaders in digital technologies. As a global company, we are committed to introducing technological innovations in the region," said Olga Skorokhodova.

The Silkway Accelerator offers two startup team members free accommodation throughout the program, visa support for international participants, and training and mentoring from Google for Startups and Astana Hub. The training will be conducted offline in Astana over three months, providing technology projects with free access to master classes and mentoring sessions led by top Google experts. Participants will focus on mastering effective business processes, scaling strategies, establishing partnerships, and attracting investments.

Kazakhstan stands as the first and only country in Central Asia where an accelerator was launched in collaboration with global company Google for Startups. Following the success of last year's Silkway Accelerator program, Google for Startups has opted to extend its exclusive partnership with Astana Hub into 2024. Detailed information about participants from the first, second, third, and fourth batches can be accessed on the astanahub.com platform.