Kazakhstan has signed an agreement with Firebird Inc. for computing projects involving NVIDIA. The 'Future Data Center Valley' project in Kazakhstan is expected to attract $10 billion in investments from AI companies, the government reported. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov signed cooperation agreements in the field of AI and digital infrastructure totaling $10 billion. The agreements were signed with the startup Firebird with the participation of NVIDIA. They involve collaboration on a large-scale project called the 'Data Center Valley' in the city of Ekibastuz. Investors are offered a site for computing facilities and electricity at an affordable price. With the currently available capacity of 300 MW, a phased increase to 1 GW is planned.
The first phase will see investments of $5 billion, including $1 billion from Kazakhtelecom. The capacity will be 100-125 MW. This phase is set to begin implementation in 2027.
The second phase involves an additional $5 billion in investments. These funds will be used to create a large-scale computing cluster based on 100,000 latest GPU chips, including NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin.
"According to our estimates, the project will provide at least $3 billion in export revenue annually, create new jobs, attract global technology companies, and strengthen Kazakhstan's position as one of the key digital hubs in Eurasia," said Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev.
Under the partnership, Firebird's Kazakh subsidiary will handle the provision and financing of AI computing infrastructure and related technologies. Kazakhtelecom will take on power supply, cooling systems, and telecommunications infrastructure necessary for the data centers.
According to the ministry, NVIDIA supports Firebird in project design and supplies GPUs and other technological solutions.
NVIDIA Vice President Rev Lebaredian compared AI infrastructure to 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, like ChatGPT.
"Kazakhstan has energy. Because you have it in abundance and can produce even more, you are a great place to start. In fact, Kazakhstan can participate at every level of this five-layer cake. From what I have seen, read, and am seeing now while here, the spirit and will of Kazakhstan are aimed at moving forward and leveraging the country's blessings – both natural resources and human capital – to enter the new era of AI," said the NVIDIA Vice President.
It is worth noting that the American company Firebird specializes in building AI infrastructure, developing data centers, and high-performance computing systems. In Armenia, the company is building a supercomputer.
Recall that in April, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with representatives of NVIDIA and Firebird AI. The talks focused on the development of artificial intelligence and the creation of modern digital infrastructure in the country.