Qazaqstan Investment Corporation, South Korea’s Mirae Asset Venture Investment and SparkLabs Group have agreed to establish a new venture fund for Central Asian technology companies.
The fund is named SparkLabs Mirae Silkroad Fund I, L.P.
According to Baiterek holding and QIC, the fund has a $65 million target size, while Kazakhstan, through Qazaqstan Investment Corporation, is considering an anchor investment of up to $10 million.
The fund’s main interests are artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and fintech. It is also expected to seek Kazakhstani companies ready to enter South Korean and US markets.
The fund will not focus on the earliest-stage startups
This distinguishes it from most local accelerators and small venture programs.
SparkLabs Mirae Silk Road Fund I plans to invest primarily in companies at Series A and beyond: startups with an operating product, a validated business model and a need to scale further.
The fund is not formally limited to artificial intelligence, but places particular emphasis on AI-native companies, where AI forms the foundation of the product or business model.
This could be particularly relevant for Kazakhstan’s ecosystem, where early-stage funding is relatively easier to find than a large follow-on round for expansion beyond the region.
Kazakhstan to be an anchor participant
Kazakhstan is represented by Qazaqstan Investment Corporation, a state fund of funds within Baiterek.
QIC says Kazakhstan’s potential participation in the new fund could reach $10 million.
The fund will be managed by Mirae Asset Venture Investment and SparkLabs Group.
Mirae Asset is a major South Korean financial group with a global investment business.
SparkLabs specializes in acceleration and venture investment, working with technology companies across multiple markets.
Startups need more than money: the fund promises to use its international partner network to help companies expand into South Korea, the United States and the Middle East.
Uzbekistan is also joining the fund
Uzbekistan’s IT Park Ventures is joining the project in parallel.
This introduces a figure that may initially cause confusion.
Uzbek sources report that the joint mechanism’s initial capital will be $2 million, with the possibility of increasing it to $10 million.
Kazakhstan’s Baiterek, meanwhile, puts the target size of the overall SparkLabs Mirae Silkroad Fund I at $65 million.
The published information appears to describe different levels of the same structure: $65 million is the whole fund’s target, while $2–10 million refers to the initial volume and potential participation of the Uzbek side.
The final capital structure and full investor list have not yet been publicly disclosed.
Why the fund is interested in Central Asia
The region’s venture ecosystem has grown considerably, but most local funds and accelerators still focus on early stages.
When a startup needs a full Series A round and access to global markets rather than a few hundred thousand dollars, the range of investors narrows substantially.
This is the gap the new fund is seeking to fill.
Under its announced strategy, it will seek companies with validated business models that need capital to scale beyond Central Asia.
AI is of particular interest for Kazakhstan.
Recent years have seen companies emerge from the country and region seeking to build international businesses in fields ranging from generative AI and medtech to fintech and cloud infrastructure.
A fund is now taking shape with international expansion into Korea, the United States and other regions built into its approach from the outset.
The $65 million is not yet fully available
There is an important qualification.
The parties have signed an MoU and a Term Sheet, setting out their intentions and the basic terms for establishing the fund.
This does not mean the entire $65 million has already been raised and is ready for investment.
QIC’s participation of up to $10 million is also still described as potential. The investment will require the necessary corporate, legal and regulatory procedures.
The more accurate wording is therefore:
Kazakhstan, South Korea and Uzbekistan are establishing a venture fund with a target size of $65 million.
Rather than:
“Kazakhstan has already allocated $65 million to AI startups.”
What this could offer Kazakhstani startups
The fund’s potential impact goes beyond its size.
For Series A companies, funding usually matters alongside access to new markets, customers and future investors.
If the model works, a Kazakhstani startup could follow a pathway along these lines:
Kazakhstan → fund investment → SparkLabs/Mirae → South Korea → United States or Middle East.
The new fund could therefore become a route to international markets for Central Asian companies as well as a source of venture capital.
This is what differentiates it from most local startup support programs.
