Venture Capital in Central Asia 2026: Funds, Deal Flow and the Gaps

8 min read

Dariia VasylievaFounder & CEO, GETVISION

Central Asian startups raised a record $320 million in 2025, according to RISE Research's third annual report on the region. That is the headline. The more useful number is $124.5 million: what the market raised once you remove two deals, Higgsfield's $130 million Series A and Uzum's $65.5 million round. Even that adjusted figure was up 31% from $95 million in 2024.

So the market is growing, and it is concentrated. This data note sets out funds and capital by country, who writes the checks, the stage mix, where foreign capital participates, and what founders should expect when they raise. The figures come from RISE Research's 2025 and 2026 reports as covered by regional media, plus GETVISION ASIA's market data where noted.

For the strategic view behind these numbers, read the GETVISION ASIA thesis.

Key takeaways

Central Asia raised a record $320 million in 2025, but Higgsfield and Uzum alone made up 61% of it.
Kazakhstan led with $209 million, while Uzbekistan raised $99.3 million and Kyrgyzstan about $3 million.
The region's venture AUM is about $1 billion, against an estimated need of $3.6 billion for sustainable growth.
The thinnest layer is Series A, where investors report few funds able to write $5-10 million checks.
Foreign capital enters mainly through mega-rounds and fund-level commitments, not through the typical seed deal.

The headline numbers by country

Three countries account for almost all of the region's venture activity. Here they are side by side.

Country	VC raised 2025	Funds / AUM	Ecosystem value
Kazakhstan	$209M ($79M ex-Higgsfield)	12 funds / $157M (2024)	$2.16B
Uzbekistan	$99.3M ($33.8M ex-Uzum)	15 funds / $180M+	$3.9B
Kyrgyzstan	About $3M	Emerging, HTP-led	$293M
Region	$320M	About $1B AUM	n/a

Venture totals are from RISE Research's 2026 report. Kazakhstan's fund count is from RISE's 2025 report, as covered by The Astana Times. Uzbekistan's fund data and ecosystem value were reported at the 2026 Central-Eurasian Venture Forum. Kyrgyzstan's ecosystem value is GETVISION ASIA's market data.

Two things jump out. Kazakhstan's total nearly tripled from $71 million in 2024, but without Higgsfield it grew 11.3%. Uzbekistan's adjusted total of $33.8 million is small, yet RISE notes it is more than 11 times the 2022 level.

Two deals, one lesson

Higgsfield, an AI video company that RISE counts as Kazakhstan's first unicorn, raised a $130 million Series A at a $1.3 billion valuation in 2025. In August 2026 it raised a $400 million Series B at a $5.4 billion valuation, according to The Times of Central Asia.

Uzum, Uzbekistan's e-commerce and fintech group, raised $65.5 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in August 2025, then $131.5 million in March 2026 at a $2.3 billion valuation, per the same source.

The lesson is not that the region produces unicorns at a steady rate. It is that country totals in a young market are driven by one or two companies. For investors, the outliers prove that companies from the region can reach global scale. For founders, the median deal is the relevant benchmark, and it looks nothing like these rounds.

There is also a definition problem. RISE reports that US-focused startups with Kazakh roots raised more than $214 million, and that three startups with Kazakh roots were accepted to Y Combinator in 2025. Whether those count as regional deals changes the totals.

Who writes the checks

The source of capital differs sharply by country.

Kazakhstan: angel investors provided 44.7% of 2025 investment excluding Higgsfield, per RISE. In 2024, SAFE agreements were used in 63% of pre-seed and seed deals, and 44% of venture fund capital came from high-net-worth individuals, according to The Astana Times.
Uzbekistan: about 85% of 2025 investment excluding Uzum came from local funds and state structures, RISE found, and seven new funds launched during the year.
Kyrgyzstan: in 2024, accelerators and hubs made more than half of all deals by count, while venture funds, mostly based abroad, supplied 66% of the volume, as Economist.kg reported.
State fund of funds: Kazakhstan's Alem Ventures Fund reported a $115 million first close in November 2025 against a $1 billion target.

It is not a market short of money at the bottom. It is a market short of institutional money in the middle. Angels, accelerators and state programs fund the first checks. Few independent funds with institutional LPs exist to lead the next round. Our Kazakhstan market map explains how the fund-of-funds layer is meant to fix this.

Stage mix and the missing Series A layer

RISE's figures for Kazakhstan show the shape of the market. Seed made up 46% of the market in 2024. In 2025, excluding Higgsfield, Series A accounted for 31%.

The debate among investors is instructive. In the RISE report, some investors describe a severe shortage of funds able to write the $5-10 million checks companies need to scale. Others say capital is plentiful but high-quality founders are scarce, especially in Uzbekistan, where private capital chases a limited number of deals. Both can be true: plenty of money for a few proven seed companies, and too little for a Series A lead.

The structural numbers point the same way.

AUM: regional venture AUM is about $1 billion, and RISE estimates it needs to reach $3.6 billion for sustainable growth, or $6.3-10 billion for a step change.
Annual gap: matching Brazil's venture investment of 0.19% of GDP would take about $0.5 billion a year, and matching the EU's 0.31% about $1.1 billion.
Pipeline: about 2,000 startups are at MVP stage, but only 370 unique startups were funded over three years.
Density: the region has 4.6 funded startups per million people, even though 18.5% of the startups RISE tracked secured funding.

What the region lacks is not seed money but the funds that lead the second round.

Where foreign capital participates

Foreign capital is present, but it enters through specific doors.

Mega-rounds. Investors named in Higgsfield's rounds include DST Global, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Tribe Capital and Intel Capital. Uzum's include Tencent, VR Capital, FinSight Ventures and Omani sovereign wealth funds, per The Times of Central Asia.
Fund-level commitments. IFC committed up to $5 million to Sturgeon Capital's Emerging Opportunities II through its Startup Catalyst program, and the fund reached a $25 million final close, according to TNW. Alem added $5 million in June 2026.
Cross-border fund of funds. Forbes Kazakhstan reported that Qazaqstan Venture Group's first fund-of-funds deal put $10 million into Big Sky Capital, alongside $2 million from Uzbekistan's UzVC.
Venture debt. Cargon received a $5 million facility from US-based Alma, which RISE describes as the first time a global venture debt fund backed a Central Asian startup.

The pattern is clear. Foreign investors back proven companies late, or back local GPs through funds. The typical seed company meets a foreign investor only after it has built the structure a foreign investor needs.

What founders should expect when they raise

Public data on median round sizes in the region is thin, so treat any single benchmark with care. What the data does show is the shape of each stage.

Pre-seed and seed: mostly angels, accelerators and local funds, frequently on SAFEs, with local terms and a short diligence process.
Series A: the $5-10 million checks investors describe as scarce. Expect to need a foreign lead or a regional fund backed by a fund of funds, and full institutional diligence.
Growth: largely foreign capital, which requires a holding structure, audited accounts and real governance.

The most common failure is the gap between the first two stages.

What it looks like: A company raises a seed round from local angels on a SAFE, grows well, and finds no local fund able to lead its Series A.

Why it hurts: The founder then starts a long foreign raise without the holding structure, audited numbers or English-language data room that foreign funds require, and burns runway while fixing them.

The fix: Build for the Series A at seed. Set up the structure early, keep the cap table clean, and prepare an investor-grade data room. RaiseTalks matches founders with investors by stage, sector, ticket and region, and our guide on raising global capital as a Central Asian founder covers the rest.

How to read these numbers

Regional venture data is young, and four caveats apply to every figure in this note.

Definitions differ. Some trackers count startups with regional founders but foreign headquarters, others do not.
Figures get revised. RISE's 2024 regional total appears as $95 million in some coverage and $96 million in other coverage.
Single deals swing totals. Always look for the figure excluding the largest round.
AUM is not deployment. Kazakh funds had invested 32% of their $157 million at the end of 2024, per RISE.

Frequently Asked Questions

RISE Research reports a record $320 million in 2025. Excluding Higgsfield's $130 million Series A and Uzum's $65.5 million round, the total was $124.5 million, up 31% from 2024.

Kazakhstan, with $209 million raised in 2025 according to RISE Research, followed by Uzbekistan with $99.3 million. Without their largest single deals, Kazakhstan raised $79 million and Uzbekistan $33.8 million.

Yes, according to some investors interviewed by RISE Research, who report few funds able to write the $5-10 million checks needed to scale. Seed money from angels, accelerators and state programs is more available than institutional Series A leads.

RISE counted 12 Kazakh venture funds managing $157 million in 2024, and Uzbekistan had 15 funds with over $180 million as reported in 2026. Across the region, RISE puts venture AUM at about $1 billion.

Yes, mainly in late-stage rounds of breakout companies such as Higgsfield and Uzum, and at fund level through commitments to regional managers. Most seed deals are still funded by local angels, accelerators, funds and state structures.