Kazakhstan to build Central Asia's largest AI cluster based on NVIDIA chips

The government of Kazakhstan has taken a huge step toward developing artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The country has signed a package of agreements with US companies Firebird and NVIDIA worth a total of $10 billion. As part of this project, the largest computing cluster in the region will be built, which is considered a strategic move to turn Kazakhstan into a digital hub for Eurasia. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .

This agreement was announced following a meeting between Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and NVIDIA Vice President Rev Lebaredyan, along with the founders of Firebird. The main goal of the project is to create a high-performance computing center based on 100,000 state-of-the-art NVIDIA graphics processors. A project of this scale is expected to be one of the most unique technological complexes not only in Central Asia but also on a global scale.

“Data Center Valley” and massive power

The central element of the program will be the “Data Center Valley” project, which will be located in the city of Ekibastuz, Pavlodar region. A large campus with an energy potential of up to 1 GW is planned to be built here. An area of 1.4 thousand hectares has already been allocated for construction, which will serve to house the servers of global technology giants.

According to Kazakhstan's Minister of Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, the investments will allow for the installation of NVIDIA's latest generation accelerators, including the GB300 and Vera Rubin platforms. These technologies represent the next generation of AI systems, providing unprecedented speed in training complex neural networks and processing large volumes of data.

Economic efficiency and strategic goals

According to government estimates, the launch of this project will bring significant benefits to the country's economy. The expected results are as follows:

• Increasing annual export revenue to at least $3 billion;
• Creating new high-tech jobs;
• Attracting international technology companies to the domestic market;
• Achieving leadership in regional digital infrastructure.

Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov emphasized that the development of AI and digital infrastructure is one of the country's strategic priorities. According to him, the main task of the project is to create a favorable environment for global digital services and major international technology platforms.

If this project is implemented on the announced scale, Kazakhstan will possess one of the most powerful computing complexes in the world. This will significantly boost the country's position in the global competition between nations for AI capabilities. According to Ixbt.com, such infrastructure could also open doors for digital cooperation and new technological opportunities for neighboring countries in the region, including Uzbekistan.