Kazakh startup teams with Japan’s infrastructure giant for Almaty seismic study

Kazakhstan’s UrbanTech company Qala AI has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nippon Koei, a prominent Japanese engineering consulting firm, to collaborate on the development and introduction of digital solutions for sustainable urban development. The partnership includes a focus on seismic risk analysis of Almaty’s infrastructure, as reported by Digitalbusiness.kz.

«This collaboration marks a strategic step toward developing and implementing digital solutions for smart city planning and seismic risk analysis in Almaty. As the city faces growing seismic risks, our joint efforts will focus on enhancing urban resilience and sustainable infrastructure development,» Dana Shukirbayeva, co-founder and chief growth officer of the startup, wrote on LinkedIn.

She added that by combining the two companies’ expertise, their solutions could serve as a model for other cities across Central Asia and globally.

Qala AI, founded in 2023, specializes in geospatial city analytics and is working to establish an AI ecosystem for cities. Its products include Resilient City Platform, a tool designed to assess the ability of the urban environment to withstand challenges and identify vulnerabilities and the Resilient Business Platform, a digital platform that allows businesses to choose proper locations and strategies for easy start. In the spring 2025, Shukirbayeva showcased the Resilient City Platform at Expo 2025 in Osaka.

Nippon Koei Co., Ltd. is Japan’s oldest and one of its most respected engineering consulting firms, founded in 1946. It specializes in civil infrastructure, energy and urban development. The company has led thousands of projects worldwide, with experience in assessing the infrastructures’ vulnerability in areas with high risk of disasters. 

In February, Kazakhstan’s National Scientific Center for Seismological Observations and Research and China Earthquake Administration’s Institute of Geophysics agreed to collaborate in pursuit of this goal, as the Almaty authorities decided to improve the city’s seismic safety.