NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's First Visit to Astana to Meet with Kazakhstan President to Discuss AI Hub
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang visited Astana for the first time on October 23, 2026, meeting with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. They discussed AI cooperation and infrastructure.
Huang had a fireside chat with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev at the alem.ai international AI center. He noted that Kazakhstan is the first country he has visited that has been declared an "AI nation" by its president and praised its potential to convert energy into intelligent exports.
Kazakhstan is advancing the Data Center Valley project located in Ekibastuz, which currently has about 300MW of power and plans to expand to 1GW. The U.S. company Firebird is involved, with agreements involving approximately $10 billion in investment. Kazakhtelecom has deployed GPUs including 400 H200 and 480 B300 units.
The company plans to procure over 1,000 more GPUs next year, involving the Vera Rubin deployment. NVIDIA collaborates with Firebird and Kazakhtelecom. Huang mentioned investments in the Kazakh AI video company Higgsfield.
Huang stated that Kazakhstan could become an AI computing hub serving Europe. President Tokayev thanked Huang for his contributions to bilateral cooperation. The visit was part of Kazakhstan's AI Month activities.
In market mechanisms, energy-rich countries seek to convert electricity resources into AI computing power exports. International chip suppliers enter the market through export licenses and partnerships with local telecom operators. Sovereign AI demand drives data center investments, benefiting host countries with energy and land, as well as GPU suppliers.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Jensen Huang visited Kazakhstan for the first time on October 23, 2026, meeting President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and having a fireside chat with Zhaslan Madiyev at alem.ai. Huang emphasized Kazakhstan's prioritization of AI as a national agenda and proposed converting energy into intelligence.
The capital pathway of the Data Center Valley project attracts commercial partners like Firebird with approximately $10 billion in investment, while NVIDIA provides GPU technology and export support. Kazakhtelecom has deployed hundreds of H200 and B300 units. NVIDIA is also investing in Higgsfield. Funding flows into local data center construction and chip procurement.
This is similar to attempts by other energy-exporting countries to pivot towards AI computing hubs. Currently, Kazakhstan is in the phase of declaring 2026 as the year of digitalization and AI, and building large-scale data centers.
Essentially, this is a restructuring of the industrial chain. The combination of energy resources and international GPU supply forms local computing infrastructure. The mechanism is to convert existing power capacity into exportable AI computing services, reducing reliance on pure energy exports.
ABAB News · Cognitive Law
Energy-rich countries are starting to sell computing power instead of just electricity.
The first to declare an AI nation, with the CEO visiting personally.
300MW of ready power attracting $10 billion in data center investment.