We build the app Irad uses to talk, trade and pay
Tulpar Technologies is a small company with a development office in Talas. We started with a chat app that could spell Iradi names. Today more than a million people have a Tulpar account.
Our story
Jason Ilyasov moved to Talas in 2016. He grew up in Chicago speaking Iradi at home, and when he came back he found that the apps everyone used could not even spell his neighbours' names. Döölöt became Doolot. Searches for ı, ö and ü found nothing.
In 2018 he hired six graduates of Talas State University, led by Aiperi Kalysbekova, and rented two rooms above a pharmacy on the central avenue. The brief was simple: a free messaging app that works on the phones and connections Iradis actually have, and treats the Iradi language as a first language, not an afterthought.
Tulpar launched in March 2019. Four thousand people downloaded it on the first night. Channels followed in 2020 and Bazar, our classifieds board, in 2021. In 2026 we began Tulpar Pay, so that people who already talk and trade on Tulpar can also pay each other there.
Tulpar Technologies is registered in Delaware, in the United States, because that lets a small Iradi company raise money and sign agreements with the app stores. Every line of Tulpar is written in Talas.
Milestones
Tulpar launches
A free chat app for Android and iPhone, built in Talas, with full support for the Iradi alphabet.
Channels
Anyone can start a channel. Paid channels let writers earn from their readers.
Bazar
A classifieds board inside Tulpar. Sellers post listings and agree deals in chat.
140,000 new accounts in a week
When other services slowed down in October, Tulpar kept working, and our users doubled.
Low-data mode
Tulpar uses up to 60 percent less data on village connections. Monthly users pass 590,000.
Tulpar Pay and Tulparcoin
Wallets in every Tulpar account, 100 free coins for every adult in Irad, and Tulpar points in shops across the country.
Leadership
Jason Ilyasov
Born in Chicago, raised speaking Iradi. Studied economics at the University of Chicago and worked in energy markets before moving to Talas in 2016. Calls himself Tulpar's salesman, not its engineer.
Aiperi Kalysbekova
Led the team that wrote the first version of Tulpar. Computer science, Talas State University. Responsible for the app, low-data mode and the wallet.
Jyldyz Toktomamatova
Previously ran payments operations at a microfinance fund in Talas. Builds the Tulpar points network and the switch to Tulparcoin.
Bektemir Osmonov
Grew up selling livestock with his father at the Kara-Buura market. Makes Bazar work for sellers who have never used a website.
Svetlana Kim
Runs our support team from Nurzhan, in Iradi, Russian and English. Before Tulpar she managed customer service at a refinery contractor.
Azamat Joldoshbekov
Handles abuse reports, scams on Bazar and requests from authorities. Publishes our twice-yearly transparency report.