In the rapidly evolving landscape of global fintech, where artificial intelligence and sovereign data sovereignty are reshaping economies, few stories capture the spirit of innovation quite like that of Freedom Holding Corp. Nasdaq-listed and headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the company has long been a powerhouse in retail brokerage and investment banking across Central Asia and Eastern Europe.
Freedom Holding Corp: Turning Cloud Deficit Into a Digital Advantage encapsulates its bold pivot from traditional financial services to a technology-driven ecosystem, leveraging regional infrastructure gaps to fuel exponential growth.
At the heart of this transformation is Kazakhstan’s digital paradox: a young, tech-savvy population and aggressive government-led digitalization initiatives have outpaced the development of robust IT infrastructure.
As CEO Timur Turlov noted in a recent FinTech.TV interview, this “mismatch” creates a cloud deficit—insufficient local capacity for data storage, processing, and secure computing amid surging demand from fintech, e-commerce, and AI applications. Rather than viewing this as a barrier, Freedom Holding has seized it as a launchpad, investing hundreds of millions to build homegrown solutions that not only serve its own operations but also position the country as a Central Asian digital hub.
The Genesis of Freedom Cloud: Bridging the Infrastructure Gap
Freedom Holding’s foray into cloud technology began in earnest with the launch of Freedom Cloud LLP, a subsidiary under its telecom arm, Freedom Telecom Holding Ltd. Established in 2023, Freedom Telecom has already laid 1,200 kilometers of fiber optic cable and deployed 976 public Wi-Fi hotspots across Kazakhstan, from airports in Almaty and Astana to shopping malls and parks.
But the crown jewel is Freedom Cloud, a network of state-of-the-art data centers designed to deliver Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS) tailored for high-load computing, AI, and blockchain needs.
Construction kicked off in May 2025 at the Alatau Innovation Hub in Almaty, with plans for expansion to Karaganda, Astana, and beyond. To date, Freedom Holding has poured approximately $230 million into IT infrastructure, with projections reaching $1 billion over the next three to four years. This isn’t mere expansion; it’s a deliberate strategy to foster technological sovereignty.
By avoiding reliance on foreign hyperscalers, Freedom Cloud ensures data residency compliance with Kazakhstan’s regulations while offering cost-effective, low-latency services to local businesses.
A pivotal move came in April 2025 when Freedom Cloud inked a landmark partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the first such collaboration between a Central Asian provider and a global giant. This hybrid model grants clients access to AWS’s suite of tools—cloud computing, machine learning, DevOps automation, and advanced security—while anchoring operations in Freedom’s domestic data centers.
“We’re introducing state-of-the-art technologies to enable hybrid solutions, from secure data storage to high-load AI tasks,” said Temirlan Zinalabdin, Managing Director of Freedom Cloud. The result? Corporate clients, including startups and government agencies, can scale operations without the geopolitical risks of full offshore dependency.
Integrating Cloud into a Unified Digital Ecosystem
Freedom Holding’s genius lies in weaving cloud infrastructure into its broader ecosystem, creating synergies across its diverse portfolio. What started as a brokerage firm—Freedom Finance, with its user-friendly Freedom24 platform—has ballooned into a “SuperApp” that bundles banking, insurance, telecom, media, and e-commerce under one roof.
By fiscal year 2025, ending May 31, the company reported $2.05 billion in revenue (up 23%), nearly $10 billion in assets, and a workforce exceeding 17,000 employees.
Cloud power underpins this integration. Freedom Cloud supports the SuperApp’s backend, enabling seamless data flows for personalized services like AI-driven investment recommendations and predictive analytics for customer retention. In brokerage, it facilitates blockchain validation for crypto custody and regulated mining, tapping into Kazakhstan’s crypto-friendly policies.
Telecom benefits from virtualization for efficient network management, while the upcoming Air2Ground project—high-speed in-flight internet piloted on Almaty-Astana routes—relies on cloud-orchestrated edge computing.
AI is the connective thread. Freedom allocated $70 million in 2025—nearly half its IT budget—to proprietary tools like Freedom GPT and contributions to KazLLM, a Kazakh-language large language model for compliance-sensitive finance. Zero-trust security frameworks, powered by cloud-native encryption and identity controls, safeguard this ecosystem, ensuring trust in an era of rising cyber threats.
Global Ambitions: From Central Asia to Cross-Border Powerhouse
Freedom Holding’s cloud strategy extends far beyond Kazakhstan. Partnerships like the February 2025 agreement with UnionPay and Verum Payments aim to build a Kazakh-Chinese e-commerce settlement system, leveraging Freedom Pay for digital trade corridors. This aligns with expansions into Europe (via CySEC-licensed Freedom Finance Europe) and the U.S., where it’s a member of NYSE and Nasdaq. BlackRock’s emergence as the second-largest shareholder underscores investor confidence in this trajectory.
The company’s fiscal resilience—$837 million in cash equivalents and $2.81 billion in investment securities as of March 2025—provides the firepower for these moves, despite a high debt-to-equity ratio that demands vigilant management. S&P Global’s upgrade of its subsidiaries to a positive outlook in July 2025, coupled with Stanford University’s case study on its evolution, cements Freedom’s status as a fintech trailblazer.
A Blueprint for Emerging Markets
Freedom Holding Corp’s journey from a regional broker to a diversified tech ecosystem exemplifies how emerging markets can alchemize deficits into dominance. By championing local cloud infrastructure, the company not only accelerates its own growth but also catalyzes Kazakhstan’s digital renaissance—creating jobs, attracting international IT firms, and fostering innovation in AI, blockchain, and beyond.
As Turlov envisions, Freedom Cloud could evolve into a national operator with mobile ambitions, rivaling global players on sovereign terms.
In a world where digital infrastructure is the new oil, Freedom Holding isn’t just adapting—it’s redefining the flow. For investors and innovators alike, this is a compelling case of turning constraint into competitive edge, proving that true advantage often emerges from the unlikeliest voids.
