Balaji’s Network School Targets Kazakhstan After Malaysia License Revocation

Balaji Srinivasan’s Network School is establishing a new campus in Kazakhstan after Malaysian authorities revoked the business license of its Forest City operation. The move follows a memorandum of understanding signed between Srinivasan and Zhaslan Madiyev, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry.

The Iskandar Puteri City Council ordered the Malaysian entity, NSO Malaysia Sdn Bhd, to cease operations effective Wednesday. Regulators alleged the company breached licensing conditions and premises usage requirements.

Consequently, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation is moving to revoke the group’s Malaysia Digital status. Losing this designation strips the company of critical tax incentives, ownership freedoms, and the ability to employ foreign workers legally.

Regulatory pressure is also intensifying at the state level. Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi has urged federal authorities to investigate potential immigration law violations, citing the region’s strategic position bordering Singapore.

Srinivasan has pushed back against claims that the Network School is shutting down. He characterized the regulatory notices as minor administrative issues. These included a request to change a sign and a licensing discrepancy in a combined coworking space.

He noted that the organization has a remedial period to resolve these matters and that members remain unaffected. However, the operational pivot to Central Asia is already underway.

Kazakhstan is actively positioning itself as a regional technology hub, including plans to develop a dedicated crypto city in Alatau. This environment offers the regulatory flexibility that digital nomad communities increasingly require.

For investors, this relocation highlights the operational reality of decentralized networks negotiating directly with sovereign states. Dragonfly Capital managing partner Haseeb Qureshi observed that the situation validated the network state thesis.

“The whole idea of a network state is taking a dense group of talent and capital, and collectively negotiating with states,” Qureshi said. He added that the Malaysia drama positioned Srinivasan to negotiate better terms with another state to copy and paste the network.

Srinivasan framed the Kazakhstan expansion as a strategic upgrade for his community. “Our new campus will become a haven for global techno-optimism, with expedited visas, streamlined redomiciliation, and active recruitment of talent,” he said. This shift underscores the growing trend of tech capital seeking favorable regulatory arbitrage.