Turlov says AI agents will bring personal assistants to everyone

Speaking at the AI & Digital Bridge 2026 forum in Astana, Freedom Holding Corp. CEO Timur Turlov outlined a vision where integrated digital platforms solve the primary hurdles facing autonomous software agents. Platforms that already combine single sign-on security, trusted environments, and established payment rails are uniquely positioned to host complex digital assistants.

Turlov spoke at a plenary session titled "The Future of Finance, Technology, Capital and Opportunities," which was moderated by Elizaveta Osetinskaya, CEO and co-founder of The Bell. During the discussion, he noted that entrepreneurs create the most value by adapting emerging technologies for practical use rather than inventing entirely new things, which he described as the work of scientists. According to Turlov, the company's super app turned out to be well prepared for artificial intelligence because it already provides the necessary infrastructure that agents typically struggle to access independently.

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"Previously, only the heads of the largest companies and the most senior officials could have highly qualified personal assistants. Now we are moving toward building a personal assistant that will help any person achieve roughly the same quality of life,"

Timur Turlov, CEO, Freedom Holding Corp., via Qazinform

The transition toward agent-driven ecosystems relies heavily on existing user interaction and security. Turlov noted that Freedom's existing application serves millions of active daily participants, providing the transactional safety required for automated agents to execute tasks. Within the application, a user could ask a single agent to buy a ticket, make a payment, send money to a mother, add a driver to a car insurance policy, or even receive a recommendation for a new film starring a favorite actor.

Behind the consumer interface, the holding company is investing heavily in underlying linguistic and computational infrastructure. Engineers are actively refining proprietary speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and speech-to-speech models. Internal benchmarks not yet published indicate strong performance metrics in processing both Kazakh and mixed Kazakh-Russian dialog patterns. Turlov cautioned, however, that perfecting autonomous capabilities remains a prolonged engineering challenge. He noted that while simple scripts can be assembled rapidly, achieving flawless execution requires years of refinement.

Market consolidation remains a significant theme in regional financial technology. Turlov warned that companies forced downward into raw infrastructure layers risk severe commoditization and thin margins. Maintaining direct customer relationships and absorbing the commercial risks associated with potential software agent errors will determine long-term profitability. In his view, consumer trust will become one of the most valuable commodities in the digital economy. Furthermore, the executive predicted that fierce competition among regional financial players—noting that three ecosystems and about five mid-sized banks currently compete in Kazakhstan—will accelerate the formation of concentrated digital banking oligopolies over the coming decade.

Addressing macroeconomic concerns surrounding technology sector expansion, Turlov dismissed fears of an overproduction bubble within the data center market. He revealed that regional demand for the organization's inaugural NVIDIA-backed data facility already doubles available capacity, with major offtakers offering to take that capacity for five years at a premium price. Such localized infrastructure is viewed as critical, given that stringent financial regulations prohibit transmitting sensitive government and banking data across international borders. Turlov called national computing capacity the new gold and foreign currency reserve, noting that Kazakhstan is aiming to build 5 GW capacity for a regional AI computing hub, which will hold roughly 90% of Central Asia's computing power once complete.

The groundwork for this physical expansion was laid earlier. In November 2025, Freedom Holding Corp. Signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Kazakhstan's Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development and NVIDIA to develop a large-scale AI data center in phases at a site with 100 MW of available power. Turlov also credited Kazakhstan's human capital, stating that the country features hundreds of thousands of highly qualified specialists and praising increased state spending on education and the opening of foreign university branches.

What to watch next:

• Deployment of the initial phase of the AI assistant inside the mobile application platform later this year, as reported by Trend on October 2, 2026.
• Further feasibility studies, financing milestones, and formalization of the multi-billion-dollar joint data center initiative stemming from the November 2025 memorandum.
• Ongoing updates concerning regional computing capacity targets, national AI infrastructure expansion, and the broader consolidation of the regional financial sector.