À Astana, HackAlem AI réunit 2 500 participants et vise un record mondial

ASTANA — Pendant cinq heures, 2 500 participants venus de 21 pays ont travaillé sur des solutions d’intelligence artificielle dans le cadre de HackAlem AI. Organisé en ouverture du « Mois de l’IA » au Kazakhstan, le hackathon a également fait l’objet d’une tentative de record Guinness, dont le résultat doit encore être vérifié et confirmé.

Étudiants, développeurs et jeunes professionnels se sont attaqués à des défis proposés dans dix domaines, parmi lesquels l’énergie, la finance, l’éducation, la logistique et les télécommunications. Selon les organisateurs, des étudiants issus de 129 universités ont pris part à l’événement.

L’ambition affichée dépasse la compétition de cinq heures. Les équipes ont travaillé sur des problèmes rencontrés par les entreprises et les services publics, avec l’objectif de faire évoluer les meilleurs prototypes vers des projets pilotes, puis vers des applications concrètes. « Notre objectif est de bâtir au Kazakhstan un environnement où les talents, la technologie et les besoins de l’économie réelle se rencontrent », a déclaré Zhaslan Madiyev, vice-Premier ministre et ministre kazakh de l’Intelligence artificielle et du Développement numérique, dans le communiqué des organisateurs.

Les participants ont eu accès à des ressources technologiques et pédagogiques fournies notamment par OpenAI, NVIDIA et l’Arizona State University. Les organisateurs en évaluent la valeur totale à 1,5 million de dollars. Les auteurs des meilleures solutions se partageront également une dotation annoncée de 200 000 dollars, composée pour moitié de ressources technologiques et pour moitié d’une contribution d’Astana Hub. La remise des prix est prévue lors du forum AI & Digital Bridge 2026.

La tentative de record a été encadrée par un dispositif de contrôle des présences : identification des participants, lecture de badges aux entrées et sorties et surveillance sur place. Seules les personnes ayant effectivement travaillé sur un projet dans les conditions requises doivent être prises en compte. Aucun record ne peut donc être présenté comme acquis à ce stade : le résultat final dépend de la procédure de vérification de Guinness World Records.

Pour Astana, l’enjeu est aussi économique. Le hackathon associe ministères, universités, entreprises et acteurs technologiques internationaux autour d’une même question : comment transformer une démonstration de talent en produits utiles et en entreprises durables ? La réponse ne se mesurera pas seulement au nombre de participants, mais au devenir des solutions conçues à HackAlem AI.

Source : communiqué de presse des organisateurs de HackAlem AI transmis à Bruxelles Korner.

PRESS RELEASE

23.09.2026                                                                                               Astana, Kazakhstan

Astana Hosts One of the World’s Largest AI Hackathons, HackAlem AI

One of the world’s largest AI hackathons, featuring global technology leaders OpenAI and NVIDIA, kicked off in Astana as part of AI Month. HackAlem AI became an official attempt to set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title.

“HackAlem AI is an opportunity for us to bring together talent, cutting-edge technologies, and real-world economic challenges. Participants worked on specific industry challenges provided by the country’s leading companies, developing solutions for businesses and key sectors. Our goal is to build an environment in Kazakhstan where talent, technology, and the needs of the real economy come together within a single ecosystem. It is important that the best solutions have an opportunity to progress from an idea and prototype to piloting and implementation. It is through this connection between technology teams and industry that new products and companies capable of competing in the global market emerge,” said Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“Today, artificial intelligence is becoming one of the key technologies shaping the competitiveness of countries and economies. For Kazakhstan, it is essential not only to adopt ready-made solutions, but also to build its own ecosystem of developers, researchers, and technology entrepreneurs. HackAlem AI gives our young people an opportunity to work on real-world challenges, develop their own solutions, and gain practical experience. It is particularly important that university students from across the country have actively joined the initiative. Through projects like this, we are developing a new generation of specialists capable of creating the technologies of the future here in Kazakhstan,” said Sayasat Nurbek, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Over five hours, participants developed AI solutions across ten areas: energy, finance, governance, telecommunications, logistics, creative industries, education, innovation, communications, and trade. Developers, students, young professionals, and IT enthusiasts worked on AI solutions addressing real-world challenges faced by businesses, government, and key sectors of the economy.

“HackAlem AI has become a large-scale platform for young developers, students, and AI enthusiasts from around the world. The hackathon brought together 2,500 participants from 21 countries, including students from 129 universities. Every participant had the opportunity to work with technology resources provided by global leaders such as OpenAI and NVIDIA. It is important for us to create opportunities for talent in Kazakhstan, provide access to knowledge and cutting-edge technologies, and help turn ideas into real products. We want young developers not only to gain their first practical experience, but also to create solutions with the potential to enter global markets. Initiatives like this are shaping a new generation of technology leaders in Kazakhstan,” said Magzhan Madiyev, CEO of Astana Hub.

Hackathon participants received access to technology and educational resources from OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Arizona State University (USA) with a total value of up to $1.5 million.

“HackAlem AI is not just the largest Agentic AI Hackathon; it is an event that demonstrates the scale of opportunities our region can create today. For the first time, we are officially announcing that the hackathon is being held as an attempt to set a Guinness World Records title. The project involves global technology partners, including OpenAI, NVIDIA, Palo Alto Networks, Firebird, and Arizona State University, and for us, this is an important indication that Kazakhstan and Central Eurasia are becoming increasingly integrated into the global AI ecosystem. The mission of Silkroad Innovation Hub is to give talent, teams, and companies from our region access to global technologies, knowledge, and partnerships. HackAlem AI is exactly this kind of opportunity: to create something meaningful here in the region, but with the potential to make an impact on a global scale,” said Asset Abdualiyev, Founder and CEO of Silkroad Innovation Hub.

The creators of the best AI solutions will share a $200,000 prize pool: $100,000 in technology resources and an additional $100,000 from Astana Hub. The official awards ceremony will take place on the stage of the international technology forum AI & Digital Bridge 2026.

In addition to technology and educational opportunities, participants received branded HackAlem AI merchandise and personalized certificates. The hackathon also served as a platform for professional networking, bringing together developers, technology teams, and representatives of the international AI community.

“HackAlem AI is more than just an event. Behind it is a technology community that has been developing in Kazakhstan for years and today brings together thousands of developers. Now this community also has its own digital infrastructure. To host a hackathon of this scale, we created a platform capable of supporting the entire competition cycle and the simultaneous work of thousands of participants. But its purpose extends far beyond a single event: it will host new hackathons, companies will be able to set real-world technology challenges, and the solutions created on the platform will be able to develop further and enter the market. In the AI era, the path from an idea at a hackathon to a fully fledged product is becoming increasingly shorter. That is why the legacy of today’s HackAlem AI will be not only a world record, but also an ongoing ecosystem: a community and infrastructure that will contribute to Kazakhstan’s continued technological development,” said Aidana Kaskyrbek, Founder and CEO of Blockchain & AI Technology Center (BAITC).

The world record attempt was conducted in accordance with Guinness World Records requirements. A system was in place at the venue to verify actual participation: participants underwent registration and identification, entries and exits were recorded by scanning personalized badges, and stewards monitored compliance with the established rules in each sector. Only participants who met the established requirements and directly worked on projects during the hackathon were counted toward the final result. The final result will be announced after the required record verification and confirmation procedure has been completed.

HackAlem AI opened AI Month, a series of events dedicated to artificial intelligence, digital technologies, cybersecurity, and the development of technological competencies, held ahead of the international technology forum AI & Digital Bridge 2026 as part of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Kazakhstan.

The organizers and partners of HackAlem AI were the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Akimat of Astana, Astana Hub International Innovation Cluster, Silkroad Innovation Hub, Blockchain & AI Technology Center (BAITC), Romanovsky Product, AI & Digital Bridge, OpenAI, NVIDIA, Arizona State University, Palo Alto Networks, and MSSP.GLOBAL.

The sponsors of HackAlem AI were Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund JSC, Freedom Holding Corp., Kaspi.kz JSC, Kazakhtelecom JSC, Transtelecom JSC, Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (Halyk Bank), Firebird Inc., and Beeline Kazakhstan.