Smagulov to pour millions of dollars into American venture capital fund
Nurlan Smagulov, the founder of Astana Group and a prominent Kazakhstani businessman, is going to invest $3.5 million in Automotive Ventures, an American venture capital fund specializing in supporting promising automotive and digital projects, as reported by Forbes.kz.
The fund founded by Steve Greenfield evaluates up to 60 startups related to the automobile industry each month. He met Smagulov last fall when the Kazakhstani businessman traveled to the U.S. Later, Greenfield visited Kazakhstan to participate in a corporate automotive forum organized by Astana Group.
«If Steve decides to invest in a startup, it is bound to succeed with 99% certainty. It’s a great opportunity for our company and the entire country to cooperate with him,» Smagulov said.
The businessman has invested in the American venture fund through another international venture fund MyVentures. Established in 2020, MyVentures supports startups in FinTech, MedTech and other innovative fields. Investment amounts in various projects range from $100,000 to $2 million. MyVentures has a capital of $20 million and is expected to operate for ten years.
In 2024, Smagulov was ranked first among Kazakhstan’s rentiers and fifth among the most influential businessmen in the country, with a fortune of $980 million. Automotive Ventures was founded in 2020 in Atlanta. Its portfolio includes 37 projects with an average investment of $250,000 per project. The fund operates in the U.S., Canada and Australia among other countries.
