Uzbekistan will spend at least $100 million to subsidise artificial intelligence adoption across 10,000 enterprises, covering half the cost of software implementation for commercial operators. The state-backed program targets manufacturing and consumer supply sectors, extending automation subsidies from the textile trade into food processing, electrical engineering, and construction materials.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced the funding following consultations with business owners in the Khorezm region. Government data presented at the meeting showed that 54 per cent of domestic companies using modern management and AI systems saw product demand increase. A quarter of those businesses lowered production costs, while higher sales allowed 40 per cent to raise worker wages by more than 10 per cent.
Subsidies for Factory Automation
Under the initiative, the state will reimburse 50 per cent of what companies spend to introduce automated management systems and machine learning tools. Participating enterprises will also receive access to pre-built, open-platform software designed to eliminate the cost of developing proprietary applications from scratch.
Hardware support will run through the Center for Digital Government Project Management, where authorities recently brought online Uzbekistan’s first supercomputer cluster. Companies building AI models for commercial products can process workloads on the facility without charge, with research and development bills settled directly by the state budget. Computing capacity at the cluster will triple next year.
The push reflects how Central Asian governments are attempting to modernize domestic supply chains and bypass legacy enterprise systems. While Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs rely heavily on private capital and foreign software vendors to automate shop floors, Tashkent is using direct treasury subsidies to pull mid-tier producers into modern data workflows.
Supercomputing and Regional Education
Administrative processes are seeing similar investments. The Ministry of Digital Technologies signed an agreement with South Korea’s National Information Society Agency and UZINFOCOM to build an AI system that processes and manages citizen appeals to state bodies, starting with a feasibility study and pilot rollout.
Across the border, Kazakhstan is focusing resources on technical labor. First Vice Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Rostislav Konyashkin confirmed the establishment of Qazaq AI Research University under orders from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The institution will embed machine learning coursework into outside degree programs and build research links with partner centers in China, Finland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Uzbek authorities will open the enterprise application window in stages, with initial disbursements prioritized for food processors and light industrial plants preparing export shipments.
