SparkLabs Group and Mirae Asset Venture Investment have partnered with Qazaqstan Investment Corporation and IT Park Ventures to establish a new venture capital fund targeting growth-stage startups across Central Asia, with a particular focus on AI-native companies.
The parties signed a term sheet to create SparkLabs Mirae Silk Road Fund I LP, which will be jointly managed by Mirae Asset Venture Investment and SparkLabs Group.
Qazaqstan Investment Corporation, Kazakhstan’s national fund of funds, and IT Park Ventures, the venture capital arm of Uzbekistan’s state technology park, will serve as anchor investors in the new vehicle.
The agreement was signed in Seoul during state visits by the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and alongside the first Central Asia-Republic of Korea Summit, placing the fund within a broader effort to deepen economic and investment ties between South Korea and Central Asia.
During the same week, South Korea and Kazakhstan signed commercial agreements valued at approximately $18.95 billion, highlighting the expanding economic relationship between the countries.
SparkLabs Mirae Silk Road Fund I will invest primarily in Central Asian startups at the Series A stage and later.
The strategy is aimed at companies that have already demonstrated a viable business model and are ready to expand beyond their domestic markets.
Although the fund will be sector-agnostic, it will place particular emphasis on AI-native companies where artificial intelligence is central to both the product and business model.
The fund’s backers see Central Asia as an increasingly important but still undercapitalized technology market.
Kazakhstan in particular has begun attracting more attention from global technology investors and founders. SparkLabs pointed to Higgsfield becoming Kazakhstan’s first unicorn as evidence that globally competitive AI companies can emerge from the region.
The demographic backdrop is another part of the investment thesis.
More than half of Central Asia’s population is under 30, according to SparkLabs, creating a large generation of digitally native consumers, entrepreneurs and technical talent. Governments across the region are also increasing investment in artificial intelligence and technology infrastructure.
Kazakhstan has recently attracted several other high-profile technology initiatives.
Former Coinbase CTO and former Andreessen Horowitz partner Balaji Srinivasan reopened his Network School in Kazakhstan, while Telegram has launched an AI laboratory and opened its first regional office in the country.
For SparkLabs and Mirae Asset, the opportunity extends beyond identifying promising local companies.
Portfolio companies will receive access to the global networks of both organizations along with hands-on assistance expanding into South Korea, the United States and the Middle East and North Africa region.
That international expansion support could be especially important for Central Asian startups that have demonstrated product-market fit locally but require larger markets, international customers, partnerships and additional financing to reach greater scale.
SparkLabs brings an extensive international startup network to the new fund.
Since December 2013, SparkLabs Group has invested in more than 600 startups across six continents. Its portfolio has included companies such as OpenAI, SpaceX, Vectara, Kneron, Anthropic, Nex Team, Kraken, Gen.G, Lyft and MetAI.
Mirae Asset Venture Investment provides another layer of global financial and investment expertise.
The company is the venture capital arm of Mirae Asset Financial Group, one of Asia’s largest independent financial groups, with more than $845 billion in assets under management.
Mirae Asset operates across 18 markets and manages a global investment platform covering exchange-traded funds, alternative investments and traditional asset-management strategies.
Qazaqstan Investment Corporation brings institutional backing and local market knowledge from Kazakhstan.
QIC is the country’s national fund of funds and part of Baiterek National Managing Holding. It invests in private equity and venture capital funds alongside international and private partners with the goal of attracting long-term investment into Kazakhstan and developing the country’s broader investment ecosystem.
QIC currently participates in 19 funds with combined capitalization of $2.8 billion.
IT Park Ventures adds direct exposure to Uzbekistan’s technology ecosystem.
As the venture capital arm of IT Park Uzbekistan, the organization invests in startups from Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia and co-invests alongside international funds.
Its broader mission includes connecting regional founders with international capital and helping technology companies access larger global markets.
The combination creates a fund structure that pairs local institutional investors with two international investment organizations capable of helping portfolio companies expand well beyond Central Asia.
For startups, that could provide access not only to growth capital but also to customers, investors, technology partners and operating expertise across Asia, North America and the Middle East.
The new fund also reflects a broader shift in venture investing as investors search for AI companies beyond the most established startup hubs in the United States, Europe and East Asia.
SparkLabs Mirae Silk Road Fund I is positioning itself around the idea that Central Asia can produce globally relevant technology businesses but has historically received substantially less international venture capital attention than more developed startup markets.
By targeting Series A and later companies, the fund will concentrate on businesses that have already passed the earliest stages of development and are preparing for broader commercial expansion.
KEY QUOTES:
“Higgsfield becoming Kazakhstan’s first unicorn was a turning point. It showed that a world-class AI company can be built in Central Asia.”
“And it won’t be the last with more than half of the region’s population is under 30, growing up digital and our governments actively investing in AI.”
“Yet the region is still largely overlooked by international investors, and that’s the opportunity this fund is built for.”
Aslan Sultanov, Co-Founder and General Partner at SparkLabs Mirae Silk Road
