Kazakhstan Bets on AI: What Could Derail Its Data Center Plans?
PRAGUE, November 2, Free Eurasia. NVIDIA chief Jensen Huang’s visit to Astana has drawn attention to Kazakhstan’s plans to become one of Central Asia’s artificial intelligence hubs. Kazakhstan’s authorities say the country intends to use its access to energy and its geographic location to develop data centers and sell computing capacity to clients abroad.
However, the scale of the announced agreements and the ambition of these plans do not mean that Kazakhstan has already become a major exporter of AI services. To get there, it will need to address energy supply, infrastructure, demand, and the practical use of new computing capacity.
What Is Being Built
One of the main projects is Data Center Valley, a campus for data centers. Kazakhstan plans to establish it in the Ekibastuz and Karaganda area. The authorities envision a large site for data centers supporting the development of artificial intelligence.
“Kazakhstan hopes to create a data center — something like a ‘Silicon Valley’ — near Ekibastuz and Karaganda. The area is close to coal mines, which makes it possible to obtain relatively inexpensive energy. Climatic conditions may also help with cooling,” a source in the Kazakh government told Free Eurasia.
However, locating infrastructure near coal-fired generation also raises questions about the environmental cost of this development. If coal-fired power plants meet the additional demand for electricity, emissions of CO₂ and other pollutants could increase.
The announced $10 billion package of agreements is linked to Kazakhstan’s Data Center Valley project and includes arrangements involving the government and Firebird, with NVIDIA participating. The amount should not be described as a direct NVIDIA investment in Kazakhstan: it refers to a package of agreements around the project. Read the Kazakh government’s announcement.
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development estimates that the project could generate at least $3 billion in annual export revenue. In October, Firebird said it had obtained a U.S. export license for 45,000 NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GPUs for the project’s first phase. Firebird’s announcement.
The Cost of Power
The project’s viability will depend above all on a stable electricity supply. Modern data centers require large, reliable volumes of electricity. Demand is expected to grow as cloud services and AI systems — which need computing capacity to train models and process data — expand.
Kazakhstan wants to provide computing capacity for its own digital sector while building infrastructure that clients in other countries, potentially including EU member states, could use. That is why the data center plans are tied not only to technology policy but also to the future of the energy sector.
Relatively affordable electricity alone does not guarantee competitiveness. The project will also need reliable power grids, reserve capacity, qualified specialists, and clear conditions for companies that place equipment there. The sources of electricity and the reliability of supply will also matter.
The system’s vulnerability has already been demonstrated in practice. On August 14, 2026, the southern zone became disconnected from the rest of the power system after three 500 kV transmission lines tripped. Load totaling about 2.81 GW had to be temporarily curtailed. This does not prove that the system cannot support new data centers, but it shows why backup routes and reliable interregional connections matter. KEGOC reported the incident.
Who Is Involved
The project model involves Kazakh government bodies and companies, as well as international technology partners. The participants named include NVIDIA, Firebird, and Kazakhtelecom. Higgsfield was also mentioned in this context.
The companies’ roles and the specific terms of their participation need to be distinguished: being named in a package of agreements does not necessarily mean they have the same investment commitments or responsibilities. To assess the project, it is important to establish who will build the facilities, provide electricity and connectivity, supply equipment, and buy the computing services.
Uzbekistan: A Regional Competitor
Kazakhstan is not the only Central Asian country seeking technology investment and developing digital infrastructure. Uzbekistan is moving beyond plans. The country has launched a supercomputer using NVIDIA technology, while regional data centers equipped with GPU servers have opened in Bukhara and Kokand. Uzbekistan’s presidential administration reported on the supercomputer; the Ministry of Digital Technologies reported on the Bukhara and Kokand facilities.
The first phase of a DataVolt center, with around 12 MW of capacity, is under construction in Tashkent. Tashkent has also discussed a proposed 125–250 MW data center in Karakalpakstan with NVIDIA and Firebird, but the project remains at the proposal stage. In October, the Uzbek government said preparations were under way to launch the DataVolt center; its announcement on talks with NVIDIA and Firebird described the Karakalpakstan project proposal.
Competition will be about more than capital and equipment. Access to energy, grid quality, workforce training, regulation, and the ability to offer companies predictable conditions will all matter.
Huang’s visit has brought international attention to Kazakhstan and its AI plans. But the project’s success will be measured not by claims that the country could become a “global hub,” but by how quickly the data centers become operational, which companies become their clients, and how much of the computing capacity can be used by Kazakhstani businesses and customers abroad.
Kazakhstan is trying to achieve two goals at once: provide computing capacity for its own digital sector and turn any surplus into an export service. Whether the country can do both — with sufficient electricity supply and genuine demand — will determine whether it becomes a competitive AI infrastructure hub in Central Asia.
