AI Adoption and Technology Sourcing in Kazakhstan’s Industrial Companies
21 Aug 2026
The British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan, in partnership with Narxoz University and KBTU, is pleased to present a new Industry Benchmark Report examining the current state of artificial intelligence adoption among industrial companies in Kazakhstan.
Based on a survey of 17 senior representatives from industrial companies across energy, mining, manufacturing, chemical and logistics sectors, the report provides an evidence-based snapshot of how businesses are approaching AI adoption, technology sourcing and implementation.
Key findings
- 100% of surveyed companies identified AI and Machine Learning as a leading technology priority.
- 58.8% of AI initiatives remain at the pilot stage, while none of the surveyed companies has reached full-scale industrial deployment.
- Talent and internal expertise were identified as the leading barrier to AI adoption, rated 3.71/5, ahead of implementation cost at 3.53/5.
- 88% of respondents experience difficulties evaluating technology vendors and rely primarily on personal professional networks when sourcing AI solutions.
- 70.6% of completed AI pilots were delivered with a budget of under USD 50,000, highlighting that the main challenge is not necessarily the cost of experimentation, but the transition from pilots to scalable implementation.
The report also provides six priority recommendations for companies looking to move from AI experimentation towards sustainable business value, covering talent development, vendor due diligence, pilot governance, data readiness, strategies for mid-sized enterprises, and performance measurement and ROI.
Prepared by the AI in Business Working Group of the British Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan, the report brings together expertise from the business community, academia and the technology sector, with contributions from Narxoz University and the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU).
Read the full report: