Kazakhstan marked perhaps the high point of its presidentially proclaimed “year of artificial intelligence” with a visit by technology titan, Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, who said the Central Asian state has the potential to become “a global hub for Physical AI.”
Huang and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met on October 23 for talks aimed at bolstering collaboration between the chipmaking giant and Kazakh companies. Huang praised the Kazakh tech ecosystem as possessing all the prerequisites to become an AI power.
“This new industry requires energy at its foundation, it also requires a population dedicated to science, math and technology. You have richness in both,” Huang was quoted as telling Tokayev during their meeting.
Speaking later at a public forum with Kazakh Minister of AI Zhaslan Madiyev, Huang painted a picture in which Kazakhstan retools its energy sector to power data centers and AI development. “Instead of just exporting energy, in the future, you could transform energy into intelligence and export intelligence,” he said.
Huang went on to predict that AI would transform every sector of the Kazakh economy from mining to agriculture. “AI will lift your people,” he said. Madiyev indicated that emphasis is being placed on the development of Kazakh-language models.
Huang’s visit coincided with the expansion of an Armenian-American AI infrastructure firm, Firebird.ai, into Kazakhstan. According to an Nvidia blog post, Firebird has obtained an export license for 45,000 Nvidia Grace Blackwell GPUs for use in a data center built in conjunction with Kazakhtelecom. The first phase of the project is under construction, with a launch date set for the third quarter of 2027.
Firebird’s infrastructure capacity in Kazakhstan could reach 500 megawatts once a planned second phase is completed. Firebird also intends to establish a lab to foster the development of human capital and AI startups.
Firebird CEO Razmig Hovaghimian said the collaboration with Kazakhstan came together quickly. “President Tokayev’s vision gave us the confidence to think bigger about what we can build together,” Hovaghimian said after meeting the Kazakh leader. “We’re building the infrastructure for Kazakhstan’s talent and ideas to reach the world.”
The Firebird- Nvidia project, officially known as Firebird AI KZ Ltd., can help cement Kazakhstan’s position in a US initiative known as Pax Silica, which is designed to ensure AI and supply-chain reliability for Washington, while opening access to advanced technology and chips for participating states. Kazakhstan joined Pax Silica this past June.
But questions about Kazakhstan’s continuing membership in the group were raised after Astana also joined a competing Chinese initiative, dubbed WAICO. Over the summer, a draft State Department note reportedly stated that any nation that joined WAICO would be ineligible for participation in Pax Silica.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during his recent visit to Central Asia, walked back the notion that Kazakhstan would have to make a choice between the two programs for AI development, saying Central Asian states were free to cooperate with any nation in building out their AI infrastructure.
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