iFLYTEK has signed a research memorandum with one of Kazakhstan's leading AI research centres. During AI & Digital Bridge 2026, held in Astana from 1 to 3 October, the Chinese company signed a memorandum with the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at Nazarbayev University, covering speech and language technology for Kazakh and other languages as well as large language models. No amounts, specific projects or timelines have been disclosed; for now this is a framework agreement.
Who signed and what was agreed
ISSAI announced the signing on its website on 2 October. The memorandum was signed by ISSAI chief executive Dr Huseyin Atakan Varol and Zhou Chuanfu, vice president of the iFLYTEK Open Platform business group and head of its international business. ISSAI describes the aims broadly: closer cooperation in AI, speech and language technology, research and knowledge exchange, and stronger links between the AI ecosystems of Kazakhstan and China.
iFLYTEK's version is more specific. The company's exhibition write-up, published on 5 October by Chinese tech outlets MyDrivers and PingWest, says the two sides will work on Kazakh and multilingual AI, speech technology, large models and agents, and explore joint research, talent training and commercialisation. The two accounts agree on the signatories, the venue and the areas of cooperation.
The deal had been in preparation. According to ISSAI, iFLYTEK's Central Asia team visited the institute on 3 September; both sides presented their work and agreed to keep discussing joint projects. Before that, an ISSAI researcher attended the iFLYTEK Open Platform Central Asia launch in Tashkent on 1-2 July. iFLYTEK says it opened a Central Asia office in Tashkent at the same time.
The two partners
ISSAI was founded at Nazarbayev University in September 2019 as a research and innovation centre for the digital sector. Its website menu lists in-house projects such as Oylan, MangiSoz, ISSAI Voice and Tilsync, and links to GitHub and Hugging Face pages where it publishes datasets and models.
At the exhibition iFLYTEK focused on multilingual products for public-facing services. By the company's own description, a transparent AI translation screen handles 101 languages, including Kazakh and Uzbek, and is aimed at airports, customs, banks and public service centres; its GuideX digital assistant supports more than 30 languages, including Kazakh and Russian. These specifications come from iFLYTEK's materials; there is no independent test data.
Rules related to this news
iFLYTEK also reported a partnership with Kazpost on digital assistants and smart customer service in post offices. However, that agreement does not appear in the list of exhibition signings that Kazinform published on 3 October citing Kazakhstan's Ministry of AI and Digital Development, and Kazpost has not announced it. For now it rests on iFLYTEK's word alone.
What it means for Chinese companies
The points below are our analysis based on public information.
Kazakh is the entry barrier. Good speech recognition and language models in Kazakh depend on local text corpora, speech recordings and linguists. Partnering with a local research institute is a common route for foreign AI companies entering markets like this.
The cooperation is at an early stage. A memorandum carries few obligations, neither side has given a product launch date, and key terms such as data ownership or commercial use of models have not been described. Chinese firms in this field may want to watch for jointly released datasets, models or pilot projects.
Astana is attracting similar deals. At the same exhibition, the Kazakh side announced agreements on data centres, skills training and digital assets, with Chinese companies among the participants.
Sources:
ISSAI, Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence, Nazarbayev University (2 October 2026), https://issai.nu.edu.kz/kk/2026/10/02/issai-iflytek-%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F%D1%81%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D1%8B%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B0%D2%9B%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8B%D2%9B-%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B0/
ISSAI (3 September 2026), https://issai.nu.edu.kz/2026/09/03/issai-and-iflytek-discuss-potential-areas-of-collaboration/
MyDrivers / 快科技 (5 October 2026), https://news.mydrivers.com/1/1155/1155455.htm
PingWest / 品玩 (5 October 2026), https://www.pingwest.com/a/318084
Kazinform (3 October 2026), https://www.inform.kz/ru/kakie-soglasheniya-imemorandumi-bili-podpisani-naai-digital-bridge-2026-vastane-e71ae811
Key facts
- iFLYTEK and Nazarbayev University’s ISSAI signed a cooperation memorandum in Astana.
- The parties’ cooperation covers Kazakh-language and multilingual AI, speech technologies, large models, and AI agents.
- The parties will explore joint research, talent development, and the industrialization of technologies.
- The memorandum did not announce the amount, specific projects, or timetable and currently represents framework cooperation.
- On September 3, iFLYTEK’s Central Asia team visited ISSAI, and the parties agreed to continue discussing joint projects.
- Nazarbayev University’s ISSAI is positioned as a research and innovation center in the digital field.
FAQ
Who are the parties to this AI cooperation?
The parties are iFLYTEK and the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at Nazarbayev University.
Which technology areas will the cooperation focus on?
Cooperation covers Kazakh-language and multilingual AI, speech technologies, large models, and AI agents, with joint research, talent development, and the industrialization of technologies also being explored.
Does the memorandum disclose the cooperation amount and implementation timetable?
The memorandum did not announce the amount, specific projects, or timetable and currently represents framework cooperation.
What subsequent developments should investors monitor?
Investors should monitor whether the parties release joint datasets, models, or specific pilot projects, and whether data ownership and model commercialization arrangements are clearly defined.