Nvidia bets on Kazakhstan as a future AI computing hub for Europe

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Kazakhstan for the first time on Friday, October 23, 2026, and said the country could become a major AI computing hub serving Europe. According to CNBC, Huang pointed to the country's energy resources and its plans to expand data center capacity. In a conversation in Astana with Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, he said Kazakhstan will be "a computing hub, an AI factory hub for all of Europe."

Huang also stressed the importance of each country developing its own AI capabilities. He argued that nations should have the infrastructure to provide AI services domestically and adapt the technology to their languages and cultures.

Kazakhstan has made AI a national priority and declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. In June, the government announced a $10 billion investment in AI infrastructure alongside Firebird, a U.S. AI cloud company. The goal is to build a computing cluster with 100,000 advanced GPUs, including Nvidia chips. According to the article, Nvidia intends to invest in the company, which is pursuing an AI infrastructure expansion of about 2 gigawatts across Armenia, Kazakhstan and other markets.

Another focus is Higgsfield, a San Francisco-based AI video startup with more than 300 people on engineering and creative teams in Kazakhstan. On Friday it announced that Nvidia and investment firm TCV took part in an extension of its Series B round, without disclosing the amount. In August it had raised $400 million in that Series B at a $5.4 billion valuation. Its co-founder, Kazakh engineer Yerzat Dulat, called building a team in the country an unexpected bet. Huang said you invest "in people, not companies."

The flagship project is Data Center Valley, a planned AI infrastructure hub in Ekibastuz, with 300 megawatts already available and plans to reach 1 gigawatt. Kazakhstan touts competitive electricity costs, ample land reserves and investment incentives. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said this month that two supercomputing clusters powered by Nvidia technology are already up and running.

According to the digital development ministry, Singapore-based GK Hyperscale signed an agreement with the government to develop two hyperscale data centers, with a planned investment of $1.5 billion and 200 megawatts of combined IT capacity. It includes another $1.2 billion in power infrastructure; construction was due to begin in early 2026, with the first module operating in 2027.

Corporate interest extends beyond AI. Volkswagen has stepped up its bet on Central Asia: in late June it announced that its business and factories in China were, for the first time, leading vehicle exports to another country, Uzbekistan, and weeks later it announced its entry into Kazakhstan. CNBC sees this as an example of companies seeking customers outside China by leveraging their industrial operations there.

Finally, the "Tianjin Declaration" from the 2025 SCO summit mentioned the potential of platforms such as an AI innovation center in Kazakhstan. This month Astana hosted the SCO event on AI, bringing together representatives of member states to discuss national strategies, regulation and technology cooperation.