Halyk Bank taps Plug and Play's 100,000-startup network for Almaty AI centre
What's the deal? Halyk BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Kazakhstan's largest lender, and Silicon Valley-based innovation platform Plug and Play will set up a joint AI competence centre in Almaty. The two unveiled the centre on October 28, with plans to develop digital services, strengthen cybersecurity, and import technologies from the global startup ecosystem.
How it works: The centre will draw on Plug and Play's network of more than 100,000 startups to identify, test, and integrate solutions into Halyk's existing services. Plug and Play's team will work directly with the bank to source technologies for specific tasks.
Why now? The cooperation followed a trip by Halyk's management to Silicon Valley, where they visited Stanford University and Plug and Play's office. It builds on a memorandum the two signed earlier in 2026.
What's the endgame? Halyk serves nearly 11.5 million retail customers, while more than 340,000 business users access its Onlinebank app each month. The bank wants to apply AI across lending, cybersecurity, fraud prevention, and risk management.
"The partnership with Plug and Play opens up even more opportunities to introduce new services into our applications, both for retail customers and businesses," said Murat Koshenov, deputy chairman of Halyk's management board.
The pitch to startups: Halyk aims to become a link between Kazakh developers and international markets, giving local startups a route into Plug and Play's ecosystem via a major customer. Roman Mashchyk, another deputy chairman, said generative AI is already used in more than 70 projects at the bank.
"Our approach to selecting startups is very pragmatic. First, we assess the needs of the bank and our customers," Mashchyk said, adding the bank would pick solutions with measurable economic benefits.
The ecosystem angle: AI is moving from experiment into operations across Kazakhstan's banks, with roughly three-quarters reportedly using it for tasks such as credit scoring and fraud prevention. Rival Kaspi.kz has launched its own AI assistant, Kasper, as lenders compete to deepen super-app engagement.
The signal: Rather than build everything in-house, the country's biggest bank is buying a direct channel to vetted global startups. Its payoff will hinge on measurable pilots and deployments — the announcement alone sets intent, not results.
Read more: astanatimes.com
Image credit: Halyk Bank
