Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visits Kazakhstan, eyes AI hub for Europe

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited Kazakhstan for the first time on Friday, using a fireside chat in Astana with Deputy Prime Minister Zhaslan Madiyev to say the country could become a major AI computing hub for Europe. Madiyev is also Kazakhstan's minister of artificial intelligence and digital development. Huang cited Kazakhstan's energy resources and plans to expand data center capacity.

AI as a national priority

Huang said of Kazakhstan, "It's going to be a hub, a computing hub, an AI factory hub for all of Europe." He also stressed that countries should build their own AI infrastructure so they can deliver AI services domestically and adapt the technology to their languages and cultures.

The visit reflects Kazakhstan's effort to attract billions of dollars in technology investment and to position itself as a regional AI center. Kazakhstan has declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence.

In June, the government announced a $10 billion AI infrastructure investment with U.S.-based AI cloud company Firebird. The plan aims to build a computing cluster powered by 100,000 advanced GPUs, including Nvidia chips. Nvidia said it intends to invest in the company, which is pursuing an approximately 2-gigawatt AI infrastructure expansion across Armenia, Kazakhstan and other markets.

Higgsfield and data centers

San Francisco-based AI video startup Higgsfield has more than 300 people working in engineering and creative teams in Kazakhstan. Its co-founder, Kazakhstani AI engineer Yerzat Dulat, told CNBC exclusively that "building a team in Kazakhstan was an unexpected bet for many. Today, we're backed by some of the most influential names in technology and media."

Higgsfield said Friday that Nvidia and investment firm TCV had invested in an extension of its Series B funding round but did not disclose the amount. The company had earlier raised $400 million in a Series B round at a $5.4 billion valuation in August. Huang said in the fireside chat: "The first thing and the last thing is you invest in people, not companies. And the founders of Higgsfield are visionary in the work that they do."

At the center of the effort is Data Center Valley, a planned AI infrastructure hub in Ekibastuz where 300 megawatts of power capacity is already available, with plans to expand to 1 gigawatt. Kazakhstan is promoting competitive electricity costs, large land reserves and investment incentives to international data center developers.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said earlier this month that two supercomputing clusters powered by Nvidia technologies had already been launched in the country. Singapore-based GK Hyperscale has signed an agreement with Kazakhstan's government to develop two hyperscale data centers, with an expected $1.5 billion investment and 200 megawatts of combined IT capacity. The project includes a planned $1.2 billion investment in power infrastructure, with construction initially scheduled to begin in early 2026 and the first data center module expected to become operational in 2027.

Interest extends beyond AI. Volkswagen announced in late June that for the first time its China business and factories were leading vehicle exports to another country, Uzbekistan, and a few weeks later announced entry into Kazakhstan. At the close of the 2025 SCO Summit, members issued a "Tianjin Declaration" noting the potential of platforms such as an AI innovation center in Kazakhstan. This year's SCO event on AI took place earlier this month in Astana.

Source: CNBC.