🔬 DeepTech Accelerator · Cohort 1 — September 2026

National DeepTech Accelerator

We commercialize Kazakhstan's science. A ~6-month program for high-TRL (6–9) deep-tech teams — dual-track: Kazakhstan and the world (China · Europe · America · Israel). We enter as an institutional co-founder — aligned upside, not a fee.

Science exists. Commercialization doesn't.

~5% of ~600 state-funded R&D projects a year are actually market-ready — about 33.

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Funded to the patent — not beyond

The state funds science up to the patent. There's no commercializing layer between the lab and the market.

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R&D money, no market story

DeepTech has enough R&D funding. What's missing is packaging, a product story, and proof on real markets.

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Talent & IP leak abroad

Once a team learns to package itself, foreign infrastructure absorbs it. Talent and IP leave the country.

The Program — ~6 months

An 8-week intensive core plus a tracking tail. Content fits 8 weeks; getting to a signed deal takes months — that's the tracking.

0
Pre-start

Pre-incubation

Base-leveling via LMS: unit economics, IP, a documented TRL audit. Gate 1 — screening.

Async LMS~100 → 30
1
Sep–Oct 2026 · 8 weeks

Intensive (core)

Content + packaging, hands-on with the board. Whole cohort, offline. Ends at Gate 2 — readiness.

15–20 teamshi-touch
2
Nov 2026 – Feb 2027 · ~14–16 wks

Tracking

Execution under mentors (bi-weekly): pilots & presale, certification, fundraising, international push. Selective.

→ ~10 teamsmilestone gates
3
Feb–Mar 2027

Demo Day + Commercialization

Demo Day before real investors, corporates and technopark reps. Gate 3 — a result: term sheet, strategic interest, or a signed pilot.

~10 dealsØ from $2M

Two Tracks. One Cohort.

Each project declares a primary track — but gets access to both.

Track A — Kazakhstan

Real sector · pilots

Bring the technology to the domestic and regional market: pilots with Kazakh industry, state orders, sector champions, export into Central Asia.

  • Pilot / PoC with a corporate → contract → round
  • Tie-in with development institutions & AIFC investors
Mining Energy Agri Chemistry

Track B — International

Push · market entry

Package the project for a specific foreign "home" — a technopark, program or strategic market. Not "to the world on average", but to a chosen platform.

  • Warmest platform → package to its criteria → soft-landing
  • China gateway via Khan Tengri Innovation Hub (Shanghai)
ChinaEuropeAmericaIsrael

The Funnel — Cohort 1

Three gates, from a broad screen to real commercializations.

100
Screening
15–20
Intensive
~10
Commercializations
$20M
Cohort pipeline (3–5 yrs)

Who We Take — high-TRL, market-ready

We don't take ideas or raw R&D. We take technologies that are already built and whose gap is the market, not the science.

TRL 6–9

Technology maturity

A working prototype in near-real conditions (TRL 6) up to a finished product in production (TRL 8–9), with documented evidence.

CRL 3–4+

Commercial validation

At least one market marker: a paying client, a completed B2B pilot, or an LOI/MoU with an industrial partner.

IRL

Investment readiness

A legal entity and clean cap table, IP filed, a full core team, a unit-economics model, and an 18–24 month funding plan.

The Team — 6 commercialization practitioners

A commercializing core between the lab and the market. 1 mentor ≈ 5 projects.

David Tuganov

David Tuganov

Vision · ecosystems · GTM. Change management, design thinking. 250+ projects accelerated (Google for Startups, MOST, NURIS).

Evgeny Evdokimov

Evgeny Evdokimov

Deals · valuations. Deal structuring, hardware B2B economics, DCF, term sheets.

Sergey Makarov

Sergey Makarov

R&D → product. Tech transfer, customer development. World Bank consultant (MUNIS).

Kendrick White

Kendrick White

International capital · M&A. 30+ years in VC, EBRD/IFC, US/EU/China market access.

Ekaterina Runova

Ekaterina Runova

IP · patents · biotech. PhD Biology, patent landscape, PCT & international patenting.

Abylay Akhymbekov

Abylay Akhymbekov

GTM · tech brokerage. Commercialization systems, pitch training, negotiations. World Bank projects.

The Coalition

Institutional partners — infrastructure, labs, pipeline and distribution, in-kind.

Astana HubVenue, Demo Day, resident status, distribution
QAIRUAI expertise, labs, mentors, scouting
QazInnovationsNationwide tech scouting, co-financing
НАНОЦAgri R&D pipeline, labs, field sites
Science FoundationCommercialization grants, R&D registry
Khan Tengri Innovation HubChina gateway — soft-landing, technoparks (Shanghai)
Alata DevelopmentTitle sponsor — Naukograd operator

Partner model is in-kind: each partner's contribution is valued and becomes the basis of the partnership agreement — transparent, no cash.

Two ways to work with us

Startups — apply to Cohort 1 (starts September 2026). Institutions, universities and corporates — join the coalition or use us as a commercialization operator (tech brokerage).