Kazakhstan took a major step toward its goal of becoming an AI leader in the heart of the Eurasian continent when new investment deals were signed with U.S. companies NVIDIA and Firebird.
Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov hosted NVIDIA Vice President Rev Lebaredian and Firebird co-founders Razmig Hovaghimian and Alexander Yesayan on June 15. They signed agreements on artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure cooperation worth up to $10 billion, for Kazakhstan’s Data Center Valley project.
Top Ten in Global AI Infrastructure
Representatives of the U.S. companies and Kazakh officials at the signing ceremony paid tribute to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for declaring 2026 the Year of AI in Kazakhstan, saying the move emphasized Kazakhstan’s commitment to AI development.
Firebird’s Hovaghimian said realization of the agreements signed on June 15 would contribute to putting Kazakhstan in the top 10 leading AI countries worldwide before the end of 2027.
Lebaredian described AI development as a “five-layer cake.”
“The first layer is energy. The second layer is chips, including those from NVIDIA. The third layer is infrastructure. The next layer is AI models, such as ChatGPT,” and applications, he explained.
The NVIDIA vice president said, “Kazakhstan can participate at every level of this five-layer cake.”
An Old Power Source for Developing New Technology
In the first phase of the project, some $5 billion will go to developing the energy sector.
The Data Center Valley is located in Kazakhstan’s northern city of Ekibastuz in the Pavlodar Province. The area has long been known for its vast coal deposits and huge Soviet-era thermal power plant that provides electricity to the area.
Kazakh officials have promised an initial 300 megawatts (MW) of power for the AI center, with output gradually rising to some 1000 MW.
Kaztelekom chief Bagdat Musin was at the signing and said, “Essentially, Kazakhstan is transforming Ekibastuz coal into digital export revenue.”
Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev said Kazakhstan expects to “generate at least $3 billion in annual export revenue, create new high-skilled jobs, (and) attract leading global technology companies.”
Discussions are still underway about exactly how the remaining $5 billion would be spent in developing the second phase of the project.
Madiyev mentioned that when finished, Ekibastuz would host a “large-scale computing cluster powered by 100,000 state-of-the-art GPU (graphics processing units) chips, including NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin.”
A press release posted by Firebird noted the “three-phase expansion strategy” would enable the project “to scale beyond 100,000 NVIDIA Blackwell and Vera Rubin GPUs by the end of 2027, creating one of the world’s largest AI computing platforms.”
Firebird Labs Kazakhstan will also be established, based on Kazakhstan’s International Center for Artificial Intelligence in the capital, Astana.
Era of Expanding Kazakh-U.S. Ties
The agreements with NVIDIA and Firebird are the latest in a series of deals with U.S. companies since late 2025.
President Tokayev announced the plan for the Data Center Valley project in January 2026.
In May, a U.S.-linked international consortium signed a deal worth some $1 billion to $1.5 billion for construction of “a Tier III–Tier IV high-reliability data center with planned capacity ranging from 50 MW to 200 MW” in Ekibastuz.
Kazakhstan’s state railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy signed a $4.2 billion agreement in September 2025 with U.S. company Wabtec for some 300 locomotives.
During President Tokayev’s November 2025 visit to Washington, Kazakh companies signed agreements totaling some $17 billion, including one worth around $1.1 billion for Cove Capital to develop a tungsten mine in Karaganda Province, and a multi-billion-dollar deal for state airline Astana Air to purchase up to 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
Kazakhstan is not the only Central Asian country developing digital capacity.
Uzbekistan is constructing its IT Park in the capital Tashkent, and plans on building a major data center in the country’s western Karakalpakstan Republic. However, Uzbekistan’s development of its AI and digital sector remains less developed than Kazakhstan’s ambitious projects, and a quick look at the map shows the Data Center Valley facility will be the only one of its kind for thousands of kilometers in any direction.
