Queens of Technology
Astana Hub’s IT Queen 2025 competition has crowned its winner after a fierce final round. Out of 190 applications, 10 teams pitched their projects to industry experts, competing for a total prize pool of 600,000 tenge. The top spot went to Soile AI, an innovation designed to detect and analyse impaired speech.
The competition showcased a wide range of technological solutions. Finalists presented projects in areas such as digital legal services, women’s health, children’s speech development, and inclusive education using 3D and VR tools. Among the standout ideas were a virtual employee platform for small and medium businesses and a project promoting local digital art.
Soile AI, founded by Ukili Omarova, took first place. Omarova drew inspiration from personal experience to develop the tool, which now holds an international patent. The platform collaborates with 19 clinics and speech therapists to support users with speech impairments. Second place went to Yerai, an AI-driven service helping students with university applications. Spacehint, a training platform for service industry roles, secured third position. The event highlighted the growing role of women-led innovation in Kazakhstan’s tech sector.
The winning projects will move forward with funding and industry recognition. Soile AI’s success marks a step toward wider adoption of speech analysis technology in healthcare. The competition also reinforced Astana Hub’s role in fostering tech talent across diverse fields.
