Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan – September 6: The Kazakh flag is raised before the final match between Kokbol Final and Kyrgyzstan during the World Nomad Games on September 6, 2026 at the racecourse in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan. (Photo by Mitchell Leighton/Getty Images)
Mitchell Leighton | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
Kazakhstan may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of the global artificial intelligence boom, but several big tech companies, including Nvidia, have expressed interest.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who visited Kazakhstan for the first time on Friday, said the country has the potential to become a major AI computing hub serving Europe, pointing to plans to expand the country’s energy resources and data center capacity.
During a fireside chat in Astana with Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zaslan Madyev, Huang emphasized the country’s role.
It will be a hub, a computing hub, an AI factory hub for all of Europe.
He also emphasized the importance of countries developing their own AI capabilities, saying they should develop the infrastructure to provide AI services domestically, while adapting the technology to their own languages and cultures.
The visit comes as Kazakhstan seeks to attract billions of dollars in technology investment and position itself as a regional hub for artificial intelligence.
Kazakhstan’s multibillion-dollar AI ambitions
Kazakhstan has made AI a national priority and declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence as part of broader efforts to develop the digital economy.
In June, the Kazakh government announced a $10 billion AI infrastructure investment plan in partnership with US-based AI cloud company Firebird to build a computing cluster featuring 100,000 advanced GPUs, including Nvidia chips.
As stated in the chipmaker’s announcement, NVIDIA plans to invest in the company as it pursues approximately 2 gigawatts of AI infrastructure expansion across Armenia, Kazakhstan, and other markets.
Meanwhile, San Francisco-based AI video startup Higgsfield also has a large presence in Kazakhstan, where it employs more than 300 people across its engineering and creative teams.
“Founding a team in Kazakhstan was an unexpected gamble for many, and now we are backed by some of the most influential names in technology and media,” company co-founder Yerzat Durat, a Kazakh AI engineer, told CNBC exclusively.
As Kazakhstan becomes the AI hub of Central Asia, Jensen Huang’s first visit to Astana is the perfect opportunity to share this news.
Erzat Durat
Co-founder Higgsfield
Higgsfield said Friday that Nvidia and investment firm TCV invested in an extension of the Series B funding round, but he did not specify the amount. Previously, the AI video startup had raised $400 million in a Series B funding round in August at a valuation of $5.4 billion.
“The first and last thing you need to do is invest in people, not companies, and the founders of Higgsfield are visionaries in what they do,” Huang said during a fireside chat.
At the heart of this effort is Data Center Valley, where an AI infrastructure hub planned for Ekivastuz with 300 megawatts of power capacity is already available, with plans to expand to 1 gigawatt.
Kazakhstan has touted competitive electricity prices, vast land reserves and investment incentives as advantages for international data center developers as demand for computing power continues to grow, and some of that investment drive is already taking shape.
Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev said earlier this month that two supercomputing clusters powered by NVIDIA technology have already been launched in the country.
Other international companies have also announced plans to invest in Kazakhstan’s digital infrastructure.
Singapore-based GK Hyperscale has also signed a contract with the Kazakh government to develop two hyperscale data centers, with an expected investment of $1.5 billion and a total IT capacity of 200 megawatts, according to the country’s Ministry of Digital Development.
The project also includes a planned $1.2 billion investment in power infrastructure, with construction initially scheduled to begin in early 2026, with the first data center module expected to be operational in 2027.
ID.4 A vehicle travels along a conveyor belt through the production hall of a Volkswagen factory (photographed with a fisheye lens). The Volkswagen plant in Emden will be fully engaged in the production of electric vehicles from 2024.
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Ties between China and Central Asia strengthen
The growing corporate interest in Kazakhstan goes beyond the AI industry.
German volkswagen is reinforcing its push into Central Asia this year, announcing in late June that its China operations and factories were for the first time driving vehicle exports to another country, in this case Uzbekistan.
A few weeks later, the automaker announced its entry into Kazakhstan.
This expansion shows how international companies are seeking new customers beyond China, while using their existing Chinese manufacturing operations to serve neighboring markets.
In the “Tianjin Declaration” at the conclusion of the 2025 SCO Summit, members of the security establishment mentioned the potential of platforms such as Kazakhstan’s AI Innovation Center.
This year’s SCO event on artificial intelligence was held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana earlier this month, bringing together representatives from member states to discuss national AI strategies, regulations and opportunities for technical cooperation.
