Kazakh startup Call2action.ai, founded by entrepreneur Yersultan Jussakinov, has raised $500,000 in funding, mostly from U.S. investors, at a $6 million valuation, Digital Business reported. Call2action.ai describes itself as the first generative AI-powered platform designed to help companies hire employees faster and at lower cost. The system conducts automated interviews,…
Sixteen-year-old Almaty resident Narminakhon Imangalieva turns one of her city’s biggest problems — air pollution — into eco-friendly ink. Narminakhon was inspired after learning that Almaty was ranked the world’s most polluted city. While researching smog’s causes, she found that it contains black carbon particles. «I thought, why not make…
The world’s first underwater data center powered by wind / Image generated by a neural network, photo editor: Adelina Mamedova China has completed the world’s first underwater data center powered entirely by wind energy, New Atlas reported. The 24-megawatt facility in Shanghai sets a new benchmark for green computing infrastructure.…
Head of the Kazakh Agency for Atomic Energy (AAE) Almassadam Satkaliyev said on the sidelines of Finnish President Alexander Stubb’s official visit to Astana that discussions on the export of Kazakhstan’s uranium to Finland’s nuclear power plants are underway, Interfax-Kazakhstan reported. Satkaliyev emphasized that Kazakhstan had previously offered supplies and…
A new report by the Basel Action Network finds that large amounts of electronic waste from the U.S. are ending up in Southeast Asia, where many countries lack the infrastructure to handle hazardous materials safely and have never wanted to become dump sites for wealthier nations, the Associated Press reported.…
SOCAR, the state oil company of Azerbaijan, may join the Dunga oil and gas project in Kazakhstan, Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov told Interfax-Kazakhstan. Akkenzhenov said commercial negotiations are underway with KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company, which holds a 60% stake in the project. The Dunga oil and…
The Trump administration is negotiating for the American company Cove Capital to gain access to one of the world’s largest undiscovered tungsten deposits in Kazakhstan, Bloomberg reported. The metal is used by the Pentagon to produce ammunition, shells and other weapons. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has helped arrange negotiations…
Freedom Holding Corp. is preparing to introduce a new feature that will allow travelers in Kazakhstan to view the carbon footprint of their flights. During the Kursiv ESG Conference 2025 in Almaty on Oct. 21, Baglana Mussina, the company’s chief sustainable development officer, announced that the feature will be available…
Chinese toy company Pop Mart saw sales soar after launching mini Labubu dolls in August. Driven by strong international performance, the company’s global revenue rose about 250% year-on-year in the third quarter. In the U.S., sales soared more than 1,200%, while European revenue surged by over 700%, according to the…
Kazakhstan outpaces many developed countries in generosity, reports Ranking.kz. The Charities Aid Foundation notes that Kazakhstani residents donate an average of 1.2% of their income to charity. This achievement places the country 30th worldwide — ahead of the U.S., Japan and Russia. This achievement is highlighted in the World Giving…
On Oct. 21, South Korea’s carmaker Kia opened its second complete knock-down assembly plant in Kazakhstan’s Kostanay, aiming to strengthen its position in Central Asia, Yonhap reported. The official ceremony of the plant opening was attended by Kia President Song Ho-sung, Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, senior government…
The U.S. and Australia have signed a critical minerals partnership designed to reduce U.S. reliance on China and boost investments in the Australian mining sector, according to Reuters. Under the agreement, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, each nation will invest $1 billion over…
Kazakhstan is considering the possibility of its state-owned companies entering the world’s largest stock exchange — the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), as reported by Primeminister.kz following a delegation visit led by Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin to the exchange during the annual meetings of the IMF and the…
L’Oréal will acquire Kering’s luxury beauty portfolio for €4 billion, boosting its standing in high-end cosmetics and fragrances, according to Euronews. The deal grants L’Oréal a 50-year license for Kering’s leading fashion houses, including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, and brings the niche fragrance brand Creed under L’Oréal’s ownership. Kering…
China’s economy expanded at a slower pace in the third quarter, weighed down by continued weakness in the property sector and renewed friction in trade relations with the U.S., according to the BBC. Official data released Monday showed China’s GDP rising 4.8% year-on-year in the three months ending September —…
A global uranium deficit — where demand exceeds supply — could emerge by 2030 as new nuclear power plants are built rapidly, according to Meirzhan Yussupov, CEO of Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom. Yussupov made the remarks during a meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He said two factors — AI development and rising…
A 1.1 billion tenge (about $2 million) securitized bond issue has been listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE). The transaction was arranged by Freedom Broker. It marks the first securitization on Kazakhstan’s organized market in seven years. The securities are available to retail investors. How the deal was structured…
Several of Kazakhstan’s largest banks have suspended mortgage lending after the central bank raised the base rate to 18%, except Freedom Bank and Otbasy Bank, which specializes in housing savings and offers mortgages at preferential rates. Halyk Bank, Nurbank and ForteBank have temporarily suspended their mortgage programs. Bank CenterCredit continues…
LVMH posted a 1% increase in third-quarter sales, buoyed by stronger spending in China and other Asian markets, excluding Japan. The world’s largest luxury group reported «noticeable» improvement in Asia, revealing positive overall results for the first time in 2025, according to Reuters. Quarterly revenue rose to $21.17 billion, beating…
China is shifting toward a more assertive strategy with the U.S., blending offense and defense, according to Gu Qingyang, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Although both Beijing and Washington had shown signs of easing tensions in recent months, that optimism faded quickly after China’s…
Google plans to build a major artificial intelligence (AI) hub in southern India, marking its largest such project outside the U.S., CNBC reported. Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian announced that the company will invest $15 billion in the project over the next five years. The new data center will help…
Zaman Bank, Kazakhstan’s Islamic bank, rolled out its first retail product this year — unsecured Islamic consumer loans with a maximum loan amount of 3 million tenge (about $5,500) — while progress on Islamic mortgages remains to be seen, according to the bank’s CEO Gulfairuz Assayeva. Notably, the bank made…
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on Monday awarded the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to American-Israeli economic historian Joel Mokyr and economists Philippe Aghion of France and Peter Howitt of Canada. The three were honored for advancing the understanding…
China has accused the U.S. of «double standards» after President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 100% tariff on Chinese imports. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said such actions could prompt «countermeasures,» adding that China «is not afraid» of a potential trade conflict, according to the BBC. The comments…
