Presight, a leading global big data analytics and applied intelligence company, has signed a USD 190 million, six-year agreement with the Akimat (municipal government) of the City of Astana to deploy an AI-powered smart city project to digitize urban infrastructure, enhance traffic management, and modernize public services.
The Astana smart city project is expected to bring community-wide benefits, from reduced traffic and congestion to faster emergency response times. The AI-powered nation-building initiative is designed to enhance Astana’s liveability, sustainability, citizen services, and digital transformation agenda. It will introduce sensors and IoT-enabled infrastructure to create a digital twin of the city, which will improve liveability, safety and community wellbeing.
Kazakhstani companies will be responsible for 60% of the total smart city project scope, ensuring that jobs, in-country value creation, and investment remain within the country.
The smart city initiative closely follows other major announcements for Presight in Kazakhstan. In 2024, the Ministry of Digital Development, in collaboration with Samruk-Kazyna, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Kazakhstan, appointed Presight to develop a state-of-the-art AI supercomputer and data center cluster to enable the country’s digital transformation initiatives.
In 2023, Presight also partnered with Astana Hub, the largest international technology park for IT startups in Central Asia, to power venture financing deals for startups.
Advancing Kazakhstan’s Urban Development
To complement the Astana smart city project and Presight’s other nation-building initiatives in Kazakhstan, Presight has also announced the expansion of its Astana office to better service in-country projects as it grows operations in Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asia region.
Thomas Pramotedham, Chief Executive Officer of Presight, highlighted, “We congratulate the City of Astana for being a global leader in the adoption of world-leading AI for smart city applications. The Astana smart city project aims to develop an ecosystem powered by AI-driven video analytics, improving urban management, traffic flow, and public safety. By integrating advanced monitoring infrastructure and intelligent vision systems, the initiative will provide real-time insights to advance city operations and situational awareness.”
“A key component of this project includes AI-powered traffic management solutions designed to enhance road safety and streamline mobility. Additionally, existing visual data sources will be unified into a real-time digital twin of the city, allowing for predictive analytics and faster response times to incidents. This initiative underscores a commitment to using AI and data-driven solutions for more efficient, secure, and sustainable urban development,” Pramotedham added.
Through the responsible and ethical implementation of AI-driven solutions, citizens of Astana will experience improved public services, digitized infrastructure, enhanced healthcare access, and safer, more efficient urban environments.
Presight remains committed to developing AI solutions that strengthen communities while upholding privacy and security. This project aligns with the City of Astana’s digital transformation goals and ensures AI is used ethically and transparently to deliver tangible benefits to citizens.