Almaty, 29 October. Halyk Bank and the international innovation platform Plug and Play, headquartered in Silicon Valley, presented a joint artificial intelligence centre of excellence in Almaty on 28 October.
Through the partnership the bank gains access to Plug and Play's global ecosystem of more than 100,000 start-ups and will be able to use international developments for its products and services. The Plug and Play team will work directly with Halyk and look for solutions to the bank's tasks. The cooperation began after a trip by Halyk's management to Silicon Valley, where the bankers visited Stanford University and Plug and Play's office.
Generative artificial intelligence is already used in more than 70 projects at the bank, deputy chairman of the management board Roman Mashchyk said.
What it means: The country's largest bank is getting a direct channel to Silicon Valley start-ups: instead of developing everything in-house, it will select ready-made solutions.
Who benefits: Halyk – faster introduction of artificial intelligence into its products. Start-ups in the Plug and Play network – entry into the Kazakh market through a major customer.
Background: Plug and Play's earlier partner in Kazakhstan was Darmen Holding: the platform worked on a corporate innovation model with major construction, mining and oil companies. Halyk is Kazakhstan's largest bank.
