
2025, January 13
Share this articleOn January 11, Nazarbayev University (NU) hosted Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, a renowned expert in artificial intelligence, scientist, entrepreneur, and venture capitalist from Taiwan.
Dr. Lee was welcomed by NU President Dr. Waqar Ahmad and Vice President Darkhan Bilyalov.
Dr. Waqar Ahmad introduced the distinguished guest to the university's infrastructure, presenting a model of the master plan. The founder of the world's first large-vocabulary speech recognition system was then briefed on the innovative developments at the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at NU. The team showcased Kazakhstan’s first language model, KazLLM, and the multifunctional Soyle App. Madina Abdrakhmanova, Deputy Director of Product and External Relations at ISSAI and Senior Data Scientist, provided Dr. Lee with a detailed explanation of the technologies used in these projects, their unique features, and the institute’s future plans, highlighting ISSAI's critical role in advancing AI in Kazakhstan, particularly in fields like computer vision, augmented and virtual reality. Professor Huseyin Atakan Varol, CEO of ISSAI, expressed readiness for collaboration and discussions on potential joint projects.
Dr. Lee was impressed by the quality of the ISSAI projects, particularly the complexity of data collection. He praised the team for their achievements and acknowledged the potential for future collaboration. At the end of his visit, Dr. Lee wished the university continued success.
It is worth noting that Dr. Kai-Fu Lee has held leadership roles at major technology companies such as Apple, Microsoft, and Google. He was also the president of Google China, founded the venture firm Sinovation Ventures, and authored the bestseller AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World.