Softline Invites Kazakhstan Teams to IIkuznitsa AI Hackathon

Softline Group invites companies and IT teams working in Kazakhstan to apply for IIkuznitsa («ИИкузница»), an online hackathon focused on AI agents for real business processes. Applications remain open through 15 November 2026. The 48-hour online coding sprint starts on 26 November. The total prize pool is RUB 1 million.

The invitation forms part of the event's expansion to five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Softline Digital Asset and Softline Solutions, both part of Softline Group, are bringing together businesses with practical automation needs and developers who can build working prototypes.

Companies provide business challenges, allowing teams to test approaches against concrete requirements. Businesses can compare prototypes and explore further development with the teams. Developers can demonstrate their skills, receive expert feedback and meet potential customers.

Developer participation is free and fully online. Applicants can enter individually or in teams of up to five people. Experience with language-model development and links to previous projects or a portfolio are requested during the application process.

Participants work on their own infrastructure and use their own tokens and paid tools. Any partner credits will be announced separately. Teams can choose their models and technology stack, subject to the requirements of the selected task. Experts from Softline Solutions and partner organisations will be available during the sprint.

Finalists present working prototypes online to the jury and business customers. Rights to the solutions remain with their authors. Further development, implementation or placement in the Softline Solutions online store is subject to selection and separate agreements, rather than being guaranteed by participation.

“Organising industry events in Central Asian countries is an important element of Softline Group's strategy for developing its international business. Working in the region, we see market demand for integrating AI into the real economy and a need for secure products that can be scaled easily. We are confident that the IIkuznitsa hackathon, which will bring customers and IT teams from different countries together on a single online platform, can contribute to addressing these challenges. By combining expertise and infrastructure, we are helping to create a shared environment for developing competitive AI products,” said Alexander Rozhkov, Director of International Business Development at Softline Group.

Cash-prize payments follow the competition rules, which require a bank account in the Russian Federation in the winner's name. Applicants should review the published rules before registering.

Applications and rules: https://xn--80ancabkw0c4a.xn--p1ai/

Softline Group (Softline PJSC) is an investment and technology holding company that leads a number of technology market segments, with more than 30 years of experience and a broad regional presence in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Indonesia and the UAE.