Ai & Business Scaling Summit NYC 2026 #AiWeekNY

The room where it happens.
270 entrepreneurs, founders, and professionals. Three panels built around the questions nobody gives you straight answers to. Real capital. Real AI strategy. Real community that converts to cash.
This event is part of #AIWeekNY by Pulse NYC — a community-led festival celebrating innovation across the AI ecosystem. More at https://pulse.nyc/ai-week/ . Open to everyone serious about building.
PANEL 1 — AI: The Opportunity in Front of You
90 minutes
Everyone's talking about AI. Almost nobody knows how to actually use it to make money.
This panel fixes that.
Asset Abdualiyev has reviewed over 350 startups and helped funnel $30M+ into early-stage companies. He trained at Stanford GSB and Harvard Kennedy School, cut his teeth at McKinsey, and built Silkroad Innovation Hub from the ground up. He knows exactly what separates the AI founders who get funded from the ones who get ignored — and he's going to tell you.
Yerbol Akhmetbekov has a PhD in Computer Science, works as a Senior AI/ML Engineer, and built his own open-source AI agent from scratch — competing directly with major players. He's going to show you what building AI actually costs, how long it actually takes, and what will actually surprise you.
Together they'll answer: Can a non-technical person build a real AI product today? How do you add AI to a restaurant, a logistics company, a services firm — right now? Where are the real opportunities that aren't yet overcrowded?
You'll leave with specific tools, use cases, and a bet worth making.
PANEL 2 — Business Capital: Fund, Grow & Scale in America
70 minutes
Most immigrant entrepreneurs are leaving money on the table. Not because it doesn't exist — because nobody showed them where to look.
This panel is that conversation.
A SCORE representative — backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration — will walk you through funding paths most business owners never find. Free mentorship. SBA loans. Credit lines. Grant programs hiding in plain sight.
A Senior Representative from New York Life will break down why protecting your business isn't separate from scaling it — and at exactly what stage it becomes critical.
Two million-dollar revenue entrepreneurs (being confirmed now) will tell you the one decision that broke them through — and the one mistake that almost didn't.
If you're doing $200K–$500K and can't figure out how to get to the next level, this panel is specifically for you. You'll leave with a clear path and the first action to take this month.
PANEL 3 — Community Is the New Currency
70 minutes
The most underrated business asset you already have isn't your product. It's your people.
This panel makes the business case — with receipts.
Ugur Bek is an NYPD officer who built the Turkic American Law Enforcement Society from nothing. He'll tell you what organizing people at scale teaches you about trust, loyalty, and getting anyone to actually show up.
Umit Muradi works in private equity co-investment at Portfolio Advisors and ran operations on a NYC mayoral campaign. He knows what doors open when you're in the right room — and what most people in this community are leaving on the table.
Nursultan Torobaev co-founded the Chicago Eurasian Hub while working as a software engineer. Alyona Badalova built not one but two brands — My Way and Silk Road Festival NYC — entirely through community. Malika Burieva is a journalist, content creator, and adjunct professor at Adelphi University who's turned audience into influence.
Five voices. One message: Korean, Indian, and Nigerian diasporas built real economic ecosystems in America. Central Asians are next. And the blueprint is already in this room.
Fully bilingual — English ⇄ Russian, live AI translation, all day long.
Official #AIWeekNewYork event by Pulse NYC.
Presented by ACABA · americancabusiness.com · @centralasian.expo