On 2 October, the international Digital Bridge 2025 forum kicked off in Astana, becoming a key platform for discussing global digital trends. It was attended by heads of state, leaders of the IT industry, and leading experts in the field of artificial intelligence.
According to the press service of Akorda, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasised in his speech that Kazakhstan intends to become a fully-fledged digital hub of Eurasia and called on the global community to develop common rules for the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
According to him, the new technology must be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, and regulation in this area should be established at a global level.
The guest of honour at the forum was the President of Hungary, Tamás Sulyok. In his speech, he noted the promise of Kazakh-Hungarian cooperation in the field of digital technologies and stated that Budapest is interested in expanding joint projects in artificial intelligence and venture investments.
Among the key guests of the forum was the founder and CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov. He announced the opening of an artificial intelligence laboratory in Kazakhstan based on the Alem.ai supercomputer cluster. Durov stressed that the new project will allow Telegram's billion users to use AI features safely and transparently, and Kazakhstan will have the opportunity to establish itself as a major provider of computing power for international networks.
In turn, the head of the venture capital fund Sinovation Ventures and the company 01ai, Kai-Fu Lee, spoke about the joint launch of the AlemLLM language model with the Kazakh side. He emphasised that this will allow the country to strengthen its position in the global AI solutions market and attract the attention of international investors to startups from Kazakhstan.
CEO of G42 International, Mansour Ibrahim Al-Mansouri, stated that Kazakhstan and the UAE could create a sustainable technological ecosystem by joining forces on projects for the development of "smart cities" and medical AI solutions.
Particular attention was drawn to the participation of Stanford Professor Ilya Strebulaev, who, in a conversation with Tokayev, noted Kazakhstan's potential in attracting venture capital investments and supporting innovative companies.
Thus, Digital Bridge 2025 not only showcased Kazakhstan's ambitions in the digital sphere, but also served as a platform where global leaders of the IT industry confirmed their readiness to invest in the development of technologies in the region.