Almaty Air Initiative

What Almaty Air Initiative does

Almaty Air Initiative (AAI) is a private nonprofit foundation established in 2024 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, dedicated to combating urban air pollution through open data, original research, community engagement, and policy advocacy. The organization serves the approximately two million residents of Almaty, providing a publicly accessible real-time air quality monitoring dashboard (dashboard.air.org.kz) that aggregates data from a 50+ sensor Clarity Movement network installed by the Asian Development Bank and the city akimat in 2022, supplemented by Kazhydromet, OpenAQ, and citizen-installed sensors. Core products include the real-time AQI dashboard, annual air quality analytical reports (covering PM2.5, NO2, O3, CO, SO2 with district-level cluster analysis), sociological survey research, policy recommendation packages, and awareness initiatives such as the Smog Paintings art project.

The foundation does not sell products or charge for services and does not collect individual donations; it is funded entirely through sponsorship from private individuals and organizations, with publicly disclosed institutional supporters including Halyk Bank, the Nurlan Smagulov Fund, and InDrive. Its go-to-market is community-led: open-access publishing in three languages, social media presence, earned media, meetups, foresight sessions, and direct advocacy to local and national government. Strategic partnerships span academia (Satbayev University, KBTU, Kazakhstan Medical University), international experts (Logika Group, Clarity Movement, OpenAQ), and civic actors (Renaissance Plus, Cityzen Space Foundation, Kazhydromet). In March 2026 the foundation announced international expansion under the Taza Initiative brand, with a 30-sensor network expansion already underway in June 2026 and the dashboard already covering Bishkek alongside Almaty.

Name

Almaty Air Initiative

Legal name

Almaty Air Initiative

Website

https://air.org.kz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Almaty Air Initiative is a private nonprofit foundation operating a public real-time air quality dashboard and research program for Almaty and Bishkek, serving residents, government, and academia through open data, citizen science, and policy advocacy on urban air pollution.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Services

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (Criteria Pollutants & Air Toxics) (EUAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Air Quality & Emissions Management (BPAHAJAI)

Keywords

• Air quality monitoring
• Environmental research
• Public health advocacy
• Pollution data analytics
• Civic engagement platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Almaty

HQ country

Kazakhstan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship from Private Individuals and Organizations: The foundation operates entirely on sponsorship support from private individuals and organizations. It does not charge for its services, does not sell products, and does not collect individual donations from the general public.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Almaty Air Initiative is a private nonprofit foundation that operates a public, real-time air quality monitoring dashboard for Almaty and Bishkek, aggregating data from Clarity Movement sensors, Kazhydromet, and OpenAQ. The foundation also publishes annual and thematic air quality research reports, conducts sociological surveys, runs community events (meetups, foresight sessions, workshops), and delivers policy recommendation packages on Low Emission Zones and emissions reduction to city authorities. All outputs are provided free of charge to the public.

Product overview

Almaty Air Initiative (AAI) operates primarily as a single-platform organization centered on its public air quality monitoring dashboard (dashboard.air.org.kz), which provides real-time AQI data, interactive maps, and forecasts for Almaty and Bishkek. The organization supplements its core platform with research publications, including annual air quality analytical reports, sociological and technical research studies, and policy recommendations delivered to city authorities. AAI also conducts awareness initiatives such as art projects to communicate air quality issues to the public. The organization announced a rebrand to 'Taza Initiative' in March 2026, signaling plans for international expansion beyond Almaty.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Taza Initiative: A new global brand under which Almaty Air Initiative announced its international expansion in March 2026.

Products and services

• Air Quality Monitoring Dashboard
• Annual Air Quality Report
• Sociological Air Quality Survey Research
• Air Quality Foresight Sessions

Quantifiable outcome

• 164 days of WHO-standard clean air in 2024 (up from 137 in 2023), representing ~45% of the year
• +6 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Logika GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2025UK-based consulting firm invited to conduct the LEZ (Low Emission Zone) workshop in Almaty on April 2–3, 2025. Experts from Logika Group provided international experience on LEZ implementation from London, Milan, Amsterdam, and Warsaw, and facilitated working sessions with local authorities, businesses, and civil society to develop LEZ recommendations for Almaty.
• Satbayev UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2025Premier Kazakh technical university that co-hosted Kazakhstan's first-ever air quality foresight session 'Clean Air for Almaty' on February 21, 2025. The university provided the venue and academic expertise for a one-day session with 80 participants from academia, business, government, and NGOs, resulting in 38 project-based solutions for air quality improvement.
• Clarity MovementcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022International company whose air quality sensors (operating in 70 countries) form the backbone of Almaty's monitoring network. 50 sensors were installed in Almaty in 2022 as a joint project of the Asian Development Bank and the city akimat. The foundation uses Clarity data for its annual PM2.5 analyses and real-time dashboard.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinanced and co-implemented the installation of 50 Clarity air quality sensors across Almaty in 2022. This infrastructure is the primary data source for the foundation's monitoring platform and research analyses.
• Renaissance Plus LaboratoryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaboratory company that also operates at official eco-posts. Partnered with the foundation to conduct a free vehicle emissions testing campaign for Almaty car owners, measuring CO and CH levels to assess compliance with emission standards without issuing fines.
• Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKBTU and the Almaty Air Initiative foundation began a collaboration (announced August 2025) focused on educational initiatives related to air quality monitoring, research, and public awareness.
• Cityzen Space FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation led by Anel Moldakhmetova, director and co-founder of AUA Group, which created the first citizen air quality monitoring network. Presented at the first Almaty Air Meetup on the history of civic air monitoring in Almaty.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Defense Fund: Major US-based environmental nonprofit that combines scientific research, policy advocacy, and public engagement. Comparable mission structure (science-driven independent advocacy for environmental outcomes) though operating at much larger scale and scope.
• AirNow (US EPA): US government-run air quality data platform providing real-time and forecast AQI across the United States. A broader institutional incumbent serving a similar transparency-and-public-health mission, but as a government program rather than independent foundation.
• Greenpeace Central Asia: Global environmental advocacy organization with a regional Central Asia presence. Shares AAI's policy-advocacy and public-awareness mission, though operating across a much broader environmental agenda at global scale.

Direct peers

• Clarity Movement: Provider of the low-cost air quality sensor network that powers AAI's primary monitoring infrastructure. Clarity operates sensor networks in 70+ countries and shares AAI's mission of democratizing air quality data through affordable hardware.
• BreezoMeter: Air quality data and analytics provider offering APIs and dashboards for real-time pollutant data worldwide. Comparable to AAI's dashboard offering, though BreezoMeter is commercial and serves enterprise and consumer applications globally.
• OpenAQ: Open-access global air quality data aggregator that AAI already uses as a data source. OpenAQ combines government, research, and low-cost sensor data into a unified platform — closely aligned with AAI's open-data, transparency-driven mission, though operating as a US-based nonprofit at global scale.
• PurpleAir: Citizen-science air quality monitoring network with thousands of low-cost sensors feeding a real-time public map. Highly comparable to AAI's citizen-sensor expansion model and open-data philosophy.
• IQAir: Global air quality technology company operating the well-known AirVisual platform with worldwide monitoring stations, real-time dashboards, and consumer-grade air quality products. Closely comparable to AAI's real-time air quality dashboard and PM2.5 reporting, though operating as a commercial entity at global scale.
• AQICN / World Air Quality Index Project: Nonprofit project aggregating real-time air quality data from global monitoring stations into a unified public AQI platform. Operates with similar open-data mission as AAI and provides comparable real-time pollutant dashboards.

Regional players

• Central Asian Environmental NGOs Coalition: Regional environmental and clean-air advocacy groups operating in Central Asia, sharing AAI's geography and mission focus on air pollution, though typically operating across multiple countries rather than a single city.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/almaty-air-initiative
• Instagraminstagram.com/air.org.kz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Almaty Air Initiative