In a world dominated by English-based AI, a young team from the Kyrgyz Republic is making waves with a groundbreaking project. AkylAI, the first artificial intelligence system fully compatible with the Kyrgyz language, is set to preserve and promote the native tongue in the digital age.
The brainchild of a group of passionate developers, AkylAI emerged from a simple tech bootcamp five years ago. Co-founders Nursultan and Ulan started by teaching data science and machine learning, unknowingly laying the groundwork for their country’s first AI community. The team expanded when Timur returned from Europe, bringing fresh ideas to the venture.
As ChatGPT took the world by storm, the AkylAI team spotted a crucial gap – its incompatibility with the Kyrgyz Republic. Undeterred, they embarked on an ambitious project to build a comprehensive language corpus. In just three months, they collected over 300 million Kyrgyz words, using this data to fine-tune an open-source language model based on Llama.
2023 saw the release of their beta version – a web-based chatbot responding entirely in Kyrgyz. But the team didn’t stop there. Their next challenge was developing a hardware device capable of voice-to-voice communication in Kyrgyz, a feat that required extensive work on voice recognition and synthesis.
“When you work in a startup, there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Timur reflects. “You have to learn to accept and enjoy this state. And just keep going.”
The team’s efforts have paid off. Today, AkylAI’s web platform serves 15,000 users, actively contributing to the digital presence of the Kyrgyz language. They’ve successfully developed five prototypes capable of speaking and answering questions, although they’re taking a measured approach to commercialization.
The project has garnered international attention and support. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Star Venture program, along with experts from Cambridge University, have helped the team refine their business strategy.
“The support really helped us create a system and structure around how to think about our business,” Timur explains. “It gave us the bigger picture, showing us where we are, our strengths, and our weaknesses.”
AkylAI’s journey underscores the importance of linguistic diversity in AI development. As the team continues to innovate, they’re not just building a product – they’re preserving a cultural heritage for future generations.
