The Kazakhstan AI deal is signed. Kazakhstan has agreed a set of accords with Firebird, a US startup backed by Nvidia, to build artificial-intelligence data centres that could draw as much as $10bn in investment, as the oil-and-gas producer tries to reinvent itself as a computing hub for the region.
The centrepiece is Data Center Valley, planned for Ekibastuz, an energy hub in the northeast. Its first phase is set at about $5bn, including $1bn from state-owned operator Kazakhtelecom, and aims to bring a 125-megawatt site online commercially in 2027.
The accords were signed in Astana by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Nvidia’s Rev Lebaredian, and Firebird co-founders Razmig Hovaghimian and Alexander Yesayan.
What’s actually in the Kazakhstan AI deal
The headline number deserves a close read. The “$10bn” is a potential total across several agreements, not a single committed cheque. The core documents are a strategic cooperation framework between Kazakhstan’s AI ministry and Firebird, and a binding term sheet between Kazakhtelecom and Firebird for the data centres.
