Global artificial intelligence (AI) leaders OpenAI and Perplexity AI have expressed interest in entering the Tajik market, exploring opportunities for localization, infrastructure development, and regional presence in the country’s emerging tech ecosystem.
According to Tajikistan’s Ministry of Industry and New Technologies (MoINT), Minister Sherali Kabir held separate video conferences with senior representatives of both companies to discuss collaboration in launching a Regional AI Center in Dushanbe, technology localization, and participation in the upcoming International AI Conference scheduled for October 24–25, 2025.
OpenAI considers data center powered by green energy
In talks with OpenAI, Minister Kabir presented Tajikistan’s potential as a data center hub, highlighting the country’s green hydropower resources and environmental advantages. He noted that Tajikistan recently launched the region’s first AI cluster based on NVIDIA’s H200 GPU chips on June 25.
OpenAI’s Head of International and Infrastructure Partnerships, Benjamin Schwartz, acknowledged Tajikistan’s strategic assets and the region’s growing demand for AI solutions. The company is exploring the localization of its algorithms in the country and possible participation in the October AI conference.
OpenAI, valued at US$300 billion, is backed by Microsoft, SoftBank, and other tech giants, with over 400 million ChatGPT users worldwide.
Perplexity AI plans regional office in Dushanbe
During a second video call, Perplexity AI Vice President Jerry Ma discussed the company’s product suite and outlined three areas of potential collaboration: support for local AI startups via its "Perplexity for Startups" initiative, a pilot rollout of its AI-powered Comet browser in partnership with Tajik ministries and labs, and the opening of a regional office in the upcoming Area AI technopark in Dushanbe.
Minister Kabir also briefed Perplexity on the UN General Assembly’s recent resolution supporting AI development in Central Asia and Tajikistan’s broader national AI strategy.
Perplexity AI, an emerging leader in AI-powered search with a company valuation of $18 billion, is backed by investors including Nvidia and Jeff Bezos.
Both meetings were part of the government's national program to attract global AI players. The Ministry has already signed several agreements with companies from the U.S. and UAE to establish research labs at the new Area AI technopark in the capital.
