BTS Digital: From Startup to Strategic Partner with State Ties and Security Licenses

The story of BTS Digital illustrates how a private IT company grew into a structure with billions in government contracts, licenses from the National Security Committee, and a complex network of affiliated founders.

From rumors of a “great firewall” and scandals surrounding the memorandum with Sberbank to ownership changes and lawsuits.

Orda.kz has put together a profile of the company.

Background

BTS Digital is a Kazakhstani IT company specializing in digital products and solutions for businesses and government. Founded in 2018, it is known for creating its own ecosystem of products, the largest of which is the  Aitu super app.

Orda.kz previously reported that the government plans to turn this messenger into the primary means of communication between officials and state agencies.

BTS Digital Director Nurtay Abilgaliyev told reporters that the company is one of the portfolio projects of the BTS Digital Ventures fund, whose main investor is the ERG Group, 40% of which is state-owned.

According to Abilgaliyev, based on this structure, it can be assumed that approximately 40% of BTS Digital’s shares are indirectly owned by the state:

I think it's fair to say so because there are essentially no other shareholders. That is, the fund's primary shareholder is ERG. Accordingly, the fund is the primary shareholder in BTS Digital, so this stake is re-transferred to BTS Digital.

He emphasized that there is no direct state funding, but the government remains an important partner.

The company, he said, is not considered a government agency.

Online Rumors

From the company’s earliest days, rumors circulated that it had been created as part of a “great Kazakh firewall”—a system to separate the sovereign Kaznet from the “hostile liberal internet.”

Galymzhan Akhmetov, head of the venture capital fund BTS Digital Ventures, said in an interview:

It's an interesting topic. Whenever I discuss it over coffee or during business meetings, it always makes me smile. I want to assure you that this conspiracy theory is nonsensical.

Yevgeny Volkov, former director of Aitu Dala and a founding member of Salem Social Media (SSM), commented on the speculation in a 2020 interview with Bluescreen. When asked about social media rumors during protests in Kazakhstan that SSM was working on government contracts, Volkov responded ironically:

Of course, we're fulfilling orders. Not from the government, but directly from the reptilians who secretly rule the planet.

He said the number of conspiracy theories surrounding Salem’s projects was staggering. During the social media attack, the company’s analysts checked the data and found that there were a few bots, and they were poorly programmed.

We were accused of launching a mega-app and cutting off everyone's internet access. We're a private company. We'll cut off internet access for all of Kazakhstan. A year has passed, and I have a question: are the haters still able to access the internet?
 said Volkov.

Projects

BTS Digital has often represented the state in dubious digital initiatives. In September 2021, Kazakhstan signed a memorandum with Russia’s Sber Group, outlining cooperation on e-government digital transformation.

The signing — during Kazakhstan’s 30th year of independence — divided public opinion.

Some experts viewed it as a capitulation to Russia, a surrender of digital sovereignty. Others argued it was a pragmatic decision aligned with global trends and Sber’s technological capacity.

Adding to the controversy, BTS Digital was named intermediary between Sber and the Kazakh government. Many local IT firms criticized the move, saying they were excluded from the talks.

We were upset. It turns out that the country's entire IT market isn't a party to the Kazakh government's digitalization contract. Not a single local company that has been operating for more than three years was involved in the discussions on this project. It should be clarified that we support the president's policy and agree that we need to move to a platform-based approach. And we're in favor of adopting international experience. But now they've simply decided for us that they'll use Sber's platform,
 said Bolat Basheev, head of the consortium of Kazakhstani IT companies.

By April 2022, during the “Jana (New) Kazakhstan” period, the government canceled the Sberbank deal due to new geopolitical circumstances, i.e., sanctions.

In 2024, ERG Group’s digital assets were restructured. Salem Social Media was sold and reformed, while BTS Digital was transferred to Phoenix Fund LP, registered at the AIFC. Kazakhtelecom acquired a 49.98% stake, with ERG and Digital Opportunities I as other participants.

In 2025, talk of a “digital conspiracy” resurfaced as Aitu’s integration into daily and government use coincided with Russia’s promotion of its closed messaging app MAX.

The parallel prompted renewed speculation about Kazakhstan creating its own closed internet ecosystem.

Contracts and Security Licenses

BTS Digital was initially founded by Business & Technology Services LLP, headed by Almas Utegulov, who also holds shares in major industrial enterprises such as Shubarkol Komir JSC and Aluminum of Kazakhstan.

In 2019, Nurtay Abilgaliyev became director, a position he still holds. That year, the ownership structure changed—first to Eurasian Digital Ventures I Limited Partnership, and later to ERG Investments Projects BV, a subsidiary of the Eurasian Group (ERG).

According to Kompra.kz data, BTS Digital’s revenues grew from 318 million tenge in 2018 to over 1 billion tenge by 2025, with total tax contributions exceeding 5.5 billion tenge.

The company has signed 14 state contracts worth more than 5.3 billion tenge. The most recent, dated August 1, 2025, was with Kazakhstan Temir Joly’s Directorate of Automation and Digitalization, worth 1.232 billion tenge, for an IT audit.

However, its most notable development came in 2025, when the National Security Committee (KNB) issued the company two licenses — in January and May — to conduct technical surveillance and data leak detection operations.

Legal Battle

In August 2024, the company was also involved in a court case. The Kazakhstan Housing Company sought to have it declared a dishonest procurement participant, alleging that its tender for a chatbot contained forged certificates. The court found that a BTS employee submitted the documents without authority, as his power of attorney had expired.

The court ruled that BTS Digital could not be held liable, citing its legal compliance and significant tax record. The Housing Company’s claim was dismissed, and BTS was not entered into the register of unscrupulous suppliers.

An Elbasy Era Product?

The current founder of BTS Digital is Phoenix Fund Limited Partnership, managed by Yernur Rysmagambetov, former chair of the AIFC Administration. A physicist by training and listed among Kazakhstan’s “100 New Faces,” he previously praised Nursultan Nazarbayev in a 2019 Nur.kz interview:

I am grateful to the first president for investing in youth and education from the very beginning. Among his achievements, I would single out the grant and loan system, thanks to which many young people were able to obtain higher education. There was a time when people dreamed of this; attending university was an unattainable dream. But suddenly, Kazakhstanis began studying, and not just for a bachelor's degree, but also for a master's degree, earning two or three diplomas and specializations. This is a huge achievement of Nursultan Abishevich on a national scale. Education has remained a priority in the country's development since the first days of independence. Kazakhstan has joined the Bologna Declaration.

Rysmagambetov has claimed that he studied in the U.S. alongside Elon Musk.

The Phoenix Fund, established recently, paid 63 million tenge in taxes in its first year. Its founders include Kazakhtelecom, Digital Opportunities I Limited, and ERG Investments Projects BV.

Rysmagambetov is also a founder (stakeholder) of Educator Online, registered in Astana in 2011, which operates in the education sector. It has paid minimal taxes and has no branches.

The company’s director, Gabit Bekakhmetov, an education expert, frequently comments in the media. He also spoke publicly about the case of producer Lyazzat Kokkozova, sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement.

On August 19, he joined the Board of Trustees at Maqsut Narikbayev University, where he is listed as a graduate of Oxford and Duke Universities and an author of several books.

According to Kompra.kz, Bekakhmetov’s bank accounts and real estate may have been frozen.

He also co-owns a business with Ainur Seitkasimova, former deputy chairperson of VTB Bank Kazakhstan, likely related to Aidar Seitkasimov of Samruq-Qazyna; both may be children of academic Gabdygapar Seitkasimov.

Other founders (stakeholders) of Educator Online include Abay Zharlygap, Kuanyshbek Bukeyev, and Yerden Kussain. Bukeyev previously headed the First Credit Bureau and worked at Homebank and Kazkommertsbank.

Kussain, a Master of Laws student and senior lecturer at Maqsut Narikbayev University, formerly served as Vice President for Innovation at Nazarbayev University. Rysmagambetov also owns ChK “ALPHABET LIMITED”, an education company founded in 2023 that consistently pays taxes.

A lesser-known founder, Digital Opportunities I Limited, registered in Astana in 2023, is formally a holding company that has undergone a name change (from Almak Checkdoc I Ltd.), as well as management transitions—from Rasul Ukenov to Olzhas Ukenov.

Olzhas Ukenov, CFO of Fonte Capital, is also a founder of the Dubai-based Almak Capital, managing the Kazwheat SPC Limited fund, which focuses on Islamic investments. Almak Capital primarily invests in Kazakh startups.

Rasul and Olzhas Ukenov could be related.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov