Astana to Host Digital Bridge 2025
Astana is set to host the Digital Bridge 2025 international forum, the largest event in Central Asia dedicated to digital technologies, startups, and artificial intelligence (AI), from October 2 to 4, according to a statement from the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan.
The theme for this year’s forum, Generative Nation, symbolizes Kazakhstan’s strategic transition from technology consumption to innovation, development, and scaling of solutions in international markets. This reflects the nation’s ambition to foster a knowledge-based society driven by cutting-edge technologies, AI advancement, and human capital development.
The program will feature keynote speeches by leading global AI experts, the inauguration of the International Center for AI alem.ai, the final round of the Generative Nation Pitch competition, the Astana Hub Battle startup contest, and the Startup Alley technology exhibition. Additionally, the event will include the Digital Bridge Awards ceremony, thematic panel discussions, interactive zones, and in-depth technical sessions.
Preceding the forum, AI Week will take place in Astana from September 29 to October 4. The week-long series will offer masterclasses, public lectures, tech meetups, workshops, and cultural events aimed at engaging students, emerging scientists, and startups in Kazakhstan’s AI ecosystem, nurturing future leaders in technology.
The Generative Nation Pitch competition will invite participation from schoolchildren, university students, startups with minimum viable products (MVPs), and scientific teams across four categories. Entries will be evaluated based on innovation, ethical application, AI integration, scalability, team expertise, and presentation quality.
The Astana Hub Battle will showcase over 100 startups from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and other countries. The semi-final round will be held on October 3, with the top ten finalists presenting on the main stage on October 4.
The Digital Bridge Awards 2025 will recognize excellence in eight categories, including Export Excellence, Tech Leadership Laureate, AI Solution of the Year, EdTech of the Year, GovTech Innovation, Tech Media Excellence, Social Impact Project, and Breakthrough Startup.
Startup Alley will present innovative solutions spanning fintech, EdTech, GovTech, Big Data, augmented and virtual reality, sustainable development, eco-technologies, and cybersecurity, featuring both domestic and international innovators. The exhibition will also highlight achievements from leading IT companies.
Since its establishment, Digital Bridge has evolved into a flagship technological event in the Eurasian region, attracting over 67,000 participants from more than 100 countries, including 1,000 speakers and 550 government and international organization representatives. The forum’s business program has engaged more than 500 startups and nearly 500 investors.
Photo credit: Akorda
