Venture market news

On October 2, Activat VC hosted the panel session “VC Stage — How AI Is Changing Venture Investment” as part of AI & Digital Bridge 2026.

Last week, Activat VC COO Meirzhan Yessimkhanov took part in Baku ID 2026, one of Azerbaijan's largest events dedicated to the development of the startup ecosystem and the venture industry, at the invitation of Sabah.Hub.

Activat VC CEO Marat Tolibayev gave a lecture on “How Startups Can Raise Investment in the Age of AI” as part of Founders’ Series #3 at Narxoz Business School.

Portfolio startup ApartX passed a competitive selection process and secured an exhibition booth at S-TRON Shanghai 2026, one of Asia's largest tech events.

On August 27, Almaty hosted Venture Day, organized by Activat VC. The event brought together representatives of the venture ecosystem, investors, and startup founders.

Activat VC invites startup founders to Venture Day — a meeting with the heads of venture funds from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Astana hosted Startup Quiz by Activat VC, an event that brought together entrepreneurs, startup founders, investors and members of the tech community.

Activat VC CEO Marat Tolibayev took part in AITK Fest, a youth festival dedicated to artificial intelligence, digital technology, entrepreneurship and innovation.

If you want to test your knowledge of startups, venture investment and technology, and meet entrepreneurs, investors and business representatives, join Startup Quiz.

On July 23, Activat VC hosted its first Startup Quiz, a trivia game for entrepreneurs, startup representatives, investors and anyone interested in the world of innovation and venture investment.

Want to test your knowledge of startups, venture capital and technology while meeting entrepreneurs, investors and business representatives?

The Astana Times has published an article on a session held as part of GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus, dedicated to the development of Central Asia's startup ecosystem and the region's potential to build globally competitive companies.

This year, CEVF was more than a networking platform: it became a place where portfolio projects were recognized by the professional community.

Wantent is one of the startups in our portfolio that is actively growing in the international market. Here we talk about the product, its progress, and its current stage of development.

On March 12, Activat VC and Yandex Qazaqstan held the Clash of Startups meetup. The event brought together startups from applied AI, fintech, urban services, martech and other fields.

The company has received a license from the National Bank of Georgia to provide card acquiring services nationwide. This is Epoint's first international market and a strategically important step in scaling the business beyond its home jurisdiction.

On March 12, the Yandex office will host the “Clash of Startups” meetup by Activat VC and Yandex Qazaqstan.

Afina helps telecom operators monetize subscriber data while fully respecting privacy.

For Digital Business, the Activat VC team spoke with experts from IT and finance, who explained how venture capital is transforming in our region and whether investment in Kazakhstani startups can be expected to grow in the future.

On January 23, BI Group and Activat VC held a Demo Day - BI Synergy Sprint.

Savvy Kid is an app with personalized AI tools that helps parents of children with ADHD cope with everyday challenges, develop their child's self-regulation and confidence, and strengthen family bonds.

A new asset has joined our portfolio. MoonAI is an enterprise platform for building AI agents that automate sales and customer support for small and medium-sized businesses.

Together with our author Anuar Lenzat, we look at how angel investing is developing in Central Asia and why, amid the growth of venture capital, it is the angel stage that is becoming the ecosystem's key bottleneck.

On December 10–11, Almaty hosted the second cohort of the Business Angel School, organized by Activat VC and BGlobal Ventures.

United Ventures and Activat VC have signed an official memorandum of cooperation.

On December 2–3 in Astana, Activat VC and BGlobal Ventures, with the support of Astana Hub Ventures and Astana Venture Club, held a course for aspiring business angels.

BI Group, in partnership with Activat VC, invites technology teams and service companies to become part of BI Living Ecosystem — an environment that makes home management, maintenance and residents' everyday life even more comfortable.

In late 2023, Activat VC, together with Investor Club member Bakytzhan Alimbayev, CFO of Aster Auto, invested in the startup BILLZ, a SaaS platform for retail business management in Central Asia.

Activat VC is expanding its investment verticals and is now considering projects in Sport Tech.

A live stream with Lyazzat Borankulova, founder of Khan Tengri Innovation Hub.

Digital Bridge 2025 in Astana brought together thousands of participants, hundreds of speakers and dozens of discussions on the future of technology. For our team, these three days were a great platform to share insights and meet new partners.

Today, the INMerge Innovation Summit is taking place in Baku, and this event holds special significance for us. Our portfolio startup Aino is competing in the Pitch Competition.

On September 26, U-ENTER Innovation Center hosted Clash of Startups: Tashkent — a large-scale startup battle organized by Activat VC, IT Park Uzbekistan, IT Park Ventures and U-Enter as part of ICT Week Uzbekistan 2025.

On September 29–30, Baku will host INMerge Innovation Summit — the region's largest innovation event, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders.

Today's market in Kazakhstan demands agility when it comes to scaling your business: beyond a strong team and product, this requires capital and financing.

Clash of Startups is a startup battle by Activat VC, IT Park Uzbekistan, IT Park Ventures and U-Enter, held as part of ICT Week.

On August 21, Activat VC hosted an event that brought together early-stage startups and business angels.

Activat VC is launching 1st Angel Club — a new initiative to support startups at the very earliest stages, when founders already have their first results but do not yet fully meet the criteria of venture funds.

Activat VC has completed a successful exit from one of its portfolio startups, BILLZ

The BI EdTech Challenge startup program has recently come to a close

We are pleased to share our new investment — the RE:Create Video platform

Kazakhstan's venture ecosystem is growing noticeably. More and more startup founders are thinking not only about scaling but also about an exit strategy. Selling a startup is just as important a stage as launching it. In this article, we look at where you can sell a tech project today: from global marketplaces to local funds.

Interesting, unconventional, informal: under this banner, an Activat VC event made a real splash

Our Investor Relations Manager, Anuar Lenzat, took part in the Central Asia Startup Cup forum in Bishkek

Activat VC announces the second Clash of Startups — a startup battle where founders compete for the attention of investors and experts

On April 3, the tech brokerage event "Green Tech Commercialization Reactor" took place

We have partnered with a financial institution in Kazakhstan

Marat Tolybai participated in a roundtable discussion at the Institute of Parliamentarism

We help founders avoid mistakes, get to market faster and build a sustainable business model

We are actively looking for startups that can contribute to the growth of Kazakhstan’s largest construction holding

We are excited to announce the beginning of a strategic partnership with BI Group

We are pleased to announce our investment in WINEST, a platform powered by Digital Sommelier technology. Its AI algorithm helps wine lovers choose the wine that best matches their personal taste.

Activat VC's Advisory Board program is designed to help startups in all key areas

We have developed a structured approach that uncovers both the strengths and risks of a project

Here are some global examples of how advisory boards have been successfully applied in startups

This collaboration will provide our startups with cutting-edge tools to build their POC and MVPs

Our startup manager, Madina Rakhimzhanova, acted as a jury at the fourth season of Accelerate Prosperity's Prosperity Cup incubation program held in Bishkek

BILLZ, a leading startup in retail automation and financing services for SMEs in Central Asia, proudly announces the addition of renowned investor Evren Ucok to its board

This 12-week program helps early-stage startups develop from idea to first sales

Sharing the latest updates on some of our portfolio startups

It is believed that online marketplaces are one of the most promising ecommerce industries for making money. Another plus of this business model is that a marketplace removes from the seller the issues with delivery, communication with the customer, and settlement of problems with orders. But at the same time, a marketplace can face a number of legal risks, which it is important for a startup to take into account at the very beginning of its business operations

Tajikistan is confidently moving towards economic growth and strengthening its position in the international arena

Activat VC's COO, Meirzhan Yessimkhanov, visited GITEX GLOBAL Largest Tech & Startup Show in the World, held in Dubai

The Tech's Telegram channel hosted an online pitch where startups from Central Asia presented their projects. The jury included our Investor Relations Manager, Anuar Lenzat

Proper legal preparation is not just a formality — it is an important factor that can protect your startup and ensure its stable growth

The online publication Er10.kz and Smartpoint are launching an autumn series of useful networking meetups

ApartX signed an agreement with Chinese company WELOCK at the 3rd Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou

Startup Battle Industry 4.0, organized by TechGarden, a leader in infrastructure support for industrial startups, was successfully held at the KIOGE exhibition

As a general rule, a website is not liable for services provided by third parties. In most cases, aggregators act specifically as platforms that help users find service providers.

Marat Tolibayev on Activat VC's strategy, the exit from ZYPL.AI and the company's plans for the future

A memorandum of cooperation with the UC Ventures venture fund was signed at ICTWEEK Uzbekistan

Want to turn your idea into a real product? A 90-day program designed specifically for those who dream of creating and manufacturing

On October 3, we invite startups and everyone interested to a meetup at the Yandex Qazaqstan office

We are proud to announce significant achievements by our portfolio startup Epoint, a leader in online payments in Azerbaijan!

An Israeli startup developing fast-charging devices for electric vehicles is receiving $800K in investment from Kazakhstani entrepreneurs

SITF and NURIS, in partnership with SilkRoad Innovation Hub, are launching the Go Abroad program

IT projects at the MVP stage and beyond from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are eligible to apply

You have the opportunity to contribute to the development of smart cities

On July 18, together with other market players, we signed an important document — the Code of Ethics of Kazakhstan's Venture Industry

Top startups are valuable “success stories” that inspire people to start their own businesses and showcase the technological progress of each country.

Venture investment is one of the foundations of the startup industry; without it, the very emergence and growth of new technology companies would simply be impossible. Today we explain what it is and how you can use it to invest and earn a profit.

Beyond traditional bank deposits or stocks, if you have a sufficient amount of money, you can consider investing in startups. These are early-stage companies that want to bring new technologies to market or offer solutions to existing problems.

Startup competitions are a great opportunity for early-stage projects not only to make a name for themselves, but also to find new clients and investors. In today's article, we explain why it is important to follow industry events and how to take part in them.

In this article, we look at one of the fastest-growing startup sectors – FoodTech. We explain what this industry is and which companies to watch in 2024.

In today’s article, we look at the core question startup founders face at the very start of their entrepreneurial journey: what a business model and a business plan are, and how they differ

In every industry, a startup's path from an idea to a successful, stable business is nearly the same: shaping the idea, building a team, launching the first versions of the product, and then growth and the sale of the business

In this article, we look at what startup acceleration is, what benefits it offers, which accelerator a startup team should choose, and how to successfully complete its training programs.

A unicorn company (or Unicorn) is a term used in the startup and venture capital world to describe a privately held startup with a market valuation of more than US$1 billion.

Films and the media usually show only successful startups. It is these startups that motivate millions of people around the world to launch their own projects and turn them into “unicorns.” But does everyone succeed?

We explain how to create such a presentation and how to tell whether it will help a startup achieve its goals.

Here's how to choose an idea in 2024 and which startups were trending in 2023.

A complete guide to building your own project – from idea to implementation

Put simply, a startup is a company at an early stage of its development. The term usually refers to a business that offers a new technology not yet available on the market, or a fresh approach to solving problems in existing industries.

The third stage of universal declaration starts in 2024

Today, anyone with internet access and minimal starting capital can earn additional income

On October 30, U.S. President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order on the safe development and use of AI

Splitting equity correctly in a startup is a fairly complex and highly individual process

Meirzhan Yessimkhanov explained how Activat VC works with startups

Almost 25,000 people took part in the forum. These were IT companies, venture capitalists, business angels and startups, as well as representatives of specialized ministries. Activat VC was presented at the exhibition, where startups could familiarize themselves with our approach to investment and talk about their projects. We noted several of them. Demo Day of Astana Hub and Google for Startups - Silkway Accelerator program was held within the framework of the forum, where startups could present their projects to venture investors. The startup Zypl.ai, one of whose investors is Activat VC, participated in the event.

Last November, we told you about the startup Zypl.ai, in which our holding company invested. Azizjon Azimi's brainchild is actively developing in the markets of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Here is the latest news: Asia Alliance Bank, the largest financial player in Uzbekistan, has started cooperation with Zypl.ai, which allows to automatically check borrowers using machine learning algorithms, and thus significantly reduce the probability of loan default.

In my venture practice, I often encounter both startups and investors misunderstanding one nuance that sometimes becomes an obstacle to investing in startups. The point is that many people believe that when an investor invests large sums of money in a startup, and the founder, of course, cannot invest comparable amounts, then at that moment the investor should automatically become the owner of a larger stake in the company.

EasyTap startup founded in December 2021 by Magzum Tolesh and Temirlan Kabylbekov closed a pre-seed round at a valuation of $3 million for $270k. Activat's investment in the project was at an early stage at a valuation of $500k. Thus, the increase in invested funds is estimated at 6 times.