Image by David Gavi
Several years ago, my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) and I founded a startup company with a singular focus: building AI apps for the real world.
We were pioneers in some areas, addressing issues that big companies either neglected or failed to address due to regulatory, political, or financial constraints.
Rather than claiming to have created a new model, I would say we applied an existing one. As a company, we collaborated with universities, researchers, and professors, training the best students through practical projects. This approach not only helped NGOs, corporations, and local governments transition to AI and new technologies at a very low cost, but also provided students with practical experience, internship opportunities, further education, and, most importantly, a workspace to debate, experiment, and develop.
Looking back, I am happy that we were able to build a team, foster a community, and create opportunities.
Despite the absence of AWS in Kazakhstan (as they do not yet provide official server nodes in Central Asia), we built the first ‘S3’. Despite Google not including Kazakh or some other minor languages in their translation app, we developed the first Translation and Transliteration AI, named QazKaz. Despite the lack of a low latency edge network for the local area, we created Xlink. Despite the absence of a modern and affordable marketplace for young people, we established 1mall. Despite the ongoing expenditure on paper invitations for weddings, we created Toylike. Despite the exorbitant costs of using ArcGIS for GIS research on satellite imagery, we developed AlfaGeo. We also created Qorgan and several other projects, although not all of them were successful.
We collaborated with UNICEF and the Al-Farabi Science and Technology Park on the UniSat project. I can proudly say that I contributed to the majority of the digital work on that project, including designing the entire brand from the ground up, even the name ‘UniSat’.
AzatAI played a crucial role in the development and operations of UniSat, from its website, utility, and design, to trainings, localizations, operations, social media, and even the development of the satellite software and more.
I served as a mentor and developer for the project, working on the on-board computer (OBC) and sensor board of the nano-satellite, as well as as the data engineer for the satellite telemetry data.
Today, UniSat has reached several countries in Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan (unisat.kz) and Uzbekistan (unisat.uz), empowering thousands of girls by providing them with knowledge, practical experience, and, most importantly, an equal opportunity.
I feel fortunate and fulfilled that I took the initiative, worked hard, gained experience, succeeded, failed, and, in short, did not waste my time.
I regret that I was unable to elevate the company to the level that my wife and others had expected, but I do not lament the past. Instead, I learn from it, and am eager to explore more possibilities and ready to accept any challenges that come my way.
I wrote more than I had intended, but I hope that when I read this someday, I will remember what happened today.
Hello and Bye.
We all need to move forward, right ?