ASTANA, Kazakhstan — The landscape of global artificial intelligence reached a new milestone this week as thousands of students and young professionals gathered in the heart of Kazakhstan to rewrite the record books. The HackAlem AI hackathon, held on Sept. 23, officially shattered the Guinness World Record for the largest agentic AI hackathon, drawing an unprecedented 2,415 participants.
The five-hour event, held as the centerpiece of Kazakhstan’s “AI Month,” eclipsed the previous record of 2,089 participants set in Hyderabad, India, in December 2025. The new benchmark was officially verified on-site by Guinness World Records adjudicator Glenn Pollard.
The massive scale of the event reflected a global appetite for AI development, with participants representing 21 countries and 219 universities across Kazakhstan. Among the attendees were students from key ASU-Cintana Alliance partners, including Innotech University and Mukhtar Auezov South Kazakhstan Research University. Collectively, the participants gained access to a vast array of cutting-edge technology and educational resources valued at up to $1.5 million.
“For Kazakhstan, it is essential not only to adopt ready-made solutions, but also to build its own ecosystem of developers, researchers and technology entrepreneurs,” said Sayasat Nurbek, minister of science and higher education for the Republic of Kazakhstan. “HackAlem AI gives our young people an opportunity to work on real-world challenges, develop their own solutions and gain practical experience.”
The event was organized by the AI and Digital Ministry of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with support from partners including Arizona State University (ASU), OpenAI, the Silkroad Innovation Hub and the Astana Hub.
For ASU, the hackathon served as a strategic platform to bridge academic excellence with global innovation. By sponsoring the event, the university extended its reach into the Central Asian tech sector, providing participants with more than just a competition. Every attendee received ASU digital badges and was offered enrollment in a complimentary entrepreneurship course through the university’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute.
Chris Johnson, senior director and head of global partnerships for ASU’s Global Academic Initiatives, who attended the event, emphasized that the hackathon was designed to prepare the next generation for an increasingly complex labor market.
“Today’s students need to develop three key competencies in order to stay competitive in the global market: technical literacy, an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to communicate their ideas effectively,” Johnson said. “They’re demonstrating that here today.”
The record-breaking success of HackAlem AI marks a significant step in Kazakhstan’s push to become a regional leader in the digital economy. By fostering an environment where young talent can interface with global technology leaders, the government aims to cultivate a new generation of specialists capable of building the technologies of the future directly from within the country.
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