Kazakhstan Sets June 2027 Launch for First Data Center Valley Facility

Kazakhstan expects to launch the first facility at Data Center Valley, a large data center campus in the country’s northeast, in the summer of 2027. The government says the first 50 MW object now under construction is due to enter service in June 2027, while the site is ultimately planned to expand to as much as 1 GW. Earlier plans put the first 125 MW center in the first half of 2027; the latest statement does not explain how the 50 MW object fits into that figure. The project is aimed not only at domestic demand: Kazakhstan wants to attract foreign technology companies and is also exploring the possibility of hosting data belonging to other countries. The first data center is already under construction in the Pavlodar region, one of Kazakhstan’s main energy-producing areas. The main buildings are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026, with commissioning work to be finished in May and the launch planned for June 2027. A 215 MW substation has been acquired to supply the site with electricity. The choice of region is primarily linked to access to electricity. The Pavlodar region is home to Ekibastuz, one of Kazakhstan’s largest power-generation centers, with a vast coal basin and major power plants. For data centers, particularly GPU clusters used for artificial intelligence, access to large and stable power supplies is critical. The stated 1 GW capacity is a long-term target rather than capacity already under construction. The campus is expected to expand gradually as customers are secured. Plans call for data centers, GPU clusters for AI, and cloud services to be hosted at the site. Among the project’s foreign partners is U.S.-based Firebird AI, which works with NVIDIA technologies. In April 2026, representatives of the two companies held talks in Astana on the development of AI infrastructure, high-performance computing, and data centers. Firebird AI later reached agreements on cooperation within the Data Center Valley project. The Times of Central Asia previously reported on plans to create a large computing facility in Kazakhstan using NVIDIA technologies. Technology companies may not be the only potential clients. The government is also developing the concept of a Data Embassy, which could allow foreign governments to store data in Kazakhstan while retaining legal sovereignty over it. Such a model already exists. Estonia established its data embassy in Luxembourg, where servers remain under Estonian state control and are used to store critical data and help maintain government digital services in the event of cyberattacks or other major crises. The two countries signed an agreement on the data embassy in 2017. Kazakhstan’s Data Embassy concept is still being developed. It is being considered alongside Data Center Valley, but the government has not said that foreign states’ sovereign data would necessarily be stored at the Ekibastuz campus. Data Center Valley itself is intended to host computing capacity and cloud services for international clients. Foreign investor interest in Kazakhstan’s data center market is not limited to this project. Singapore-based GK Hyperscale Ltd plans...

Kazakhstan and U.S. AI Companies Sign Agreements Worth $10 Billion

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...