Central Asia fund will target companies ready to scale
The new fund will invest in Central Asian startups from Series A onward, focusing on companies that already have proven business models and are preparing to expand outside their home markets.
While the investment mandate is sector agnostic, SparkLabs said AI native businesses will be a focus, covering companies where artificial intelligence sits at the center of the product and business model.
Separate details released around the agreement put the fund’s initial capital at $2 million, with scope to increase it to $10 million. IT Park Ventures is considering participation as an anchor limited partner in stages, subject to legal, regulatory and corporate approvals.
Qazaqstan Investment Corporation operates as Kazakhstan’s national fund of funds under Baiterek National Managing Holding. It currently participates in 19 funds with combined capitalization of $2.8 billion, investing alongside private and international partners to bring long term capital into the country.
IT Park Ventures serves as the venture investment arm of Uzbekistan’s state technology park, backing companies from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian markets while working with international funds.
Portfolio companies selected for the Silk Road fund will gain access to the networks of SparkLabs and Mirae Asset, with support for expansion into South Korea, the United States and the Middle East and North Africa.
SparkLabs has invested in more than 600 startups across six continents since 2013, while Mirae Asset Venture Investment forms part of Mirae Asset Financial Group, which manages more than $845 billion in assets across 18 markets.
Kazakhstan’s first unicorn strengthens the AI focus
SparkLabs Mirae Silk Road co founder and General Partner Aslan Sultanov pointed to the rise of Higgsfield as evidence that technology companies built by founders from the region can reach global scale.
“Higgsfield becoming Kazakhstan’s first unicorn was a turning point,” Sultanov said. “It showed that a world class AI company can be built in Central Asia.”
Higgsfield crossed a $1 billion valuation in 2025, becoming Kazakhstan’s first technology startup to reach unicorn status. The AI video generation company was founded by Yerzat Dulat and Alex Mashrabov, a former head of generative AI at Snap.
Sultanov said more than half of Central Asia’s population is under 30 and governments across the region are investing in AI, while international venture investment remains limited compared with more established technology markets.
The Silk Road fund comes as venture firms are directing more capital toward companies that combine AI with other emerging technologies. In June, crypto.news previously reported that Framework Ventures launched a $400 million fund covering crypto, AI, robotics and energy, with roughly half of the capital already deployed at the time.
A month later, Paradigm raised $1.2 billion for its fourth fund, retaining crypto as part of its mandate while expanding investment across AI, robotics and other emerging technologies.
Kazakhstan is building out its digital asset sector
Kazakhstan has been developing other parts of its technology and digital asset market alongside its AI initiatives.
Former Coinbase chief technology officer and former Andreessen Horowitz general partner Balaji Srinivasan reopened Network School in Kazakhstan in August. The project operates as a technology community for founders and digital nomads, with plans tied to entrepreneurship, AI and startup development.
Telegram has established its first regional office in Kazakhstan and launched an AI laboratory in the country, adding another international technology company to the local ecosystem.
Government involvement has extended into digital assets. Kazakhstan announced plans in September to establish a National Cryptocurrency Analytics Center on the National Bank’s SupTech platform. The planned system will monitor fiat and crypto transactions, wallets and customer information while providing verification tools to banks, law enforcement and licensed digital asset providers.
In July, authorities approved a strategic crypto mining framework that gives qualifying large scale miners regulated access to electricity in exchange for contributing part of their mined digital assets to a state backed reserve. Companies must meet infrastructure and operational requirements before receiving strategic miner status.
Kazakhstan had earlier outlined plans to use digital assets seized by law enforcement as one source of funding for its national crypto reserve, alongside foreign currency and gold reserves.
Uzbekistan is expanding its regulated technology infrastructure
Uzbekistan, the second Central Asian anchor represented in the Silk Road fund, has been developing its own technology and digital asset framework through IT Park and other state initiatives.
The country established a regulated crypto mining zone in Karakalpakstan this year, giving approved companies access to several power sources while offering tax incentives through 2035. The framework allows miners to use grid electricity, renewable energy and hydrogen, while proceeds from the sale of mined crypto must remain within Uzbekistan’s banking system.
The Beshkala Mining Valley framework covers licensed mining operations across Karakalpakstan and permits companies to sell mined digital assets through foreign platforms under the country’s regulatory requirements. Operators can use excess heat from mining facilities for greenhouse farming.
IT Park Ventures is meanwhile using its role in the Silk Road fund to connect regional startups with investors and markets outside Central Asia. Plans surrounding the agreement include a SparkLabs office at IT Park in Tashkent to support investment activity and help portfolio companies expand internationally.
Recent venture data has shown capital increasingly concentrating in later stage companies. Crypto and blockchain startups raised $5.683 billion across 384 deals during the second quarter of 2026, with later stage companies receiving 78% of the capital deployed during the quarter, according to Galaxy Research.
The first half of 2026 produced $10.018 billion in crypto venture investment across 744 transactions, while U.S. headquartered companies accounted for 73.5% of capital invested during the second quarter.
