The 3rd International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI 2026) — one of the world's largest AI competitions for secondary school students — has concluded in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Marking a historic milestone, the Olympiad was held in Central Asia for the first time, bringing together young researchers, scientists, and AI experts from around the globe.
From 2 to 8 August, Astana welcomed nearly 500 participants, team leaders, and jury members from 106 countries. Throughout the week, students tackled practical challenges in machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and other areas of artificial intelligence, while also taking part in an extensive educational, scientific, and cultural programme.
A key component of the Olympiad was the Team Challenge, where international teams collaborated to solve a real-world engineering problem using artificial intelligence technologies.
IOAI 2026 became the largest international educational event in the field of artificial intelligence ever hosted in Kazakhstan. Organised in just a few months, the Olympiad brought together the Kazakhstan Competitive Programming Federation, government institutions, the international organising committee, partners, jury members, experts, hundreds of volunteers, and the organising team. Their collective efforts ensured that the competition met the highest international standards.
"The participation of more than 100 countries and nearly 500 students demonstrates just how global the competition for AI talent has become. We are especially proud that an International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence of this scale was held in Kazakhstan for the first time, and that a Kazakh student secured second place overall among the absolute winners. We are systematically building a comprehensive AI ecosystem by expanding our computing infrastructure, establishing the Alem.ai International AI Center, and investing in the next generation of specialists. Our goal is for young Kazakhstanis not only to use artificial intelligence technologies, but to create them and compete alongside the world's best,"
Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
A total of 220 medals were awarded during IOAI 2026, including 37 gold, 73 silver, and 110 bronze medals. The awards recognized outstanding performances in the individual competition and reflected the exceptional level of talent demonstrated by students from around the world.
The overall winners of the individual competition were:
1st place — Artem Gorokhov (Russia)
2nd place — Dauzhan Beketov (Kazakhstan)
3rd place — Shao Zixi (China)
The following special awards were presented as part of the Team Challenge:
- Best Demonstration Award — awarded to Team New Zealand for the strongest overall performance in the live robot competition.
- Creative Robot Design Award — awarded to Team Hong Kong for the most creative robot design.
- AI-Native Robotics Award — awarded to Team Brazil for the most effective application of AI-native approaches in robotics.
Bagdat Mussin, President of the Kazakhstan Competitive Programming Federation, expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in organising the Olympiad.
"In just four months, we successfully organised and delivered a world-class Olympiad. This would not have been possible without the support of the Head of State and the dedicated work of government agencies, our international partners, jury members, team leaders, volunteers, and the entire organising committee. I sincerely thank everyone who contributed to making this event a reality. Our ambition was not only to host a competition, but to create a platform where the global AI community could come together, exchange ideas, build friendships, and lay the foundation for future collaborations,"
Bagdat Mussin, President of the Kazakhstan Competitive Programming Federation.
In addition to the competition, participants explored Kazakhstan's modern infrastructure, visited the Alem.ai International AI Center, took part in cultural activities, and established professional and personal connections with peers from around the world.
Hosting IOAI 2026 marked an important step in strengthening international cooperation in artificial intelligence and reaffirmed Kazakhstan's ability to host world-class educational and technology events.
The Olympiad's greatest achievement extends beyond outstanding competition results. It has created a lasting platform for international collaboration among the next generation of AI researchers. In the years ahead, these students will help shape the future of artificial intelligence, develop breakthrough technologies, and drive the global digital economy.
Partners of IOAI 2026
Local Partners: Kaspi.kz, Freedom Holding Corp., Astana Hub, Documentolog, Higgsfield AI.
Global Partners: IMC, Jane Street, Google, Huawei, Galbot, HRT, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), DeepInfra.