On November 20, 2024, the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI), Nazarbayev University (NU) held a press briefing for leading Kazakhstan media outlets, including TV channels Qazaqstan, Jibek Joly, Astana Times, and Liter newspaper. The briefing was presided by ISSAI Founding Director, Prof. Atakan Varol, Product Manager, Data Scientist Ulzhan Bisarinova, and Deputy Director for Product and External Relations, Senior Data Scientist Madina Abdrakhmanova.
Madina Abdrakhmanova opened the briefing with a welcome speech, thanking the journalists for attending and expressing gratitude for their keen interest in ISSAI’s work. Ulzhan Bisarinova presented the progress and key benefits of developing Kazakhstan’s Foundational Speech Model for the country and society.
The speakers provided detailed information about Soyle App, an artificial intelligence product designed to enhance multilingual communication both within Kazakhstan and beyond. Soyle App was built in 5 months as the culmination of five years of research of ISSAI scientists. Soyle App (soyle.nu.edu.kz) recognizes speech, synthesizes voice, and instantly translates into Kazakh, Russian, English, and Turkish, serving as a universal communication tool in the country’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Soyle App is hosted on NU’s supercomputing cluster to guarantee the protection of user data, with no user data being used for training. Funded entirely by the NU and NIS Foundation, the app was created to promote the sustainable growth of ISSAI. Soyle offers both free (250,000 characters) and paid versions (1 million characters for 9,000 KZT), with new features planned for future releases. No taxpayer money or government funds were used in its development.