ALMATY – A global shift in artificial intelligence (AI) from model training to real-world deployment is reshaping the semiconductor industry and accelerating demand for faster, more efficient computing – a trend that is also putting countries like Kazakhstan on the radar of international tech companies.
Jason Qu, president of Turing Evolution, and The Astana Times news reporter Ayana Birbayeva. Photo credit: The Astana Times.
“A few years ago, the focus was on training models. Now it’s about inference and reasoning. Customers are extremely sensitive to speed, latency and cost,” said Jason Qu, president of Turing Evolution, a semiconductor company, in an interview with The Astana Times on the sidelines of GITEX AI Central Asia & Caucasus 2026.
According to Qu, this transition is driving demand for more efficient computing architectures, in which performance is increasingly measured not just by raw power but by cost-efficiency metrics such as processing speed per watt and per dollar.
“In the future, AI systems will interact with each other agent to agent, generating more data and requiring more processing. This will increase the need for computing power,” he said.
Kazakhstan enters the equation
Against this backdrop, Kazakhstan is emerging as a potential regional hub for AI infrastructure and deployment. Qu said a combination of geography, policy direction and economic fundamentals shapes the country’s strategic positioning.
“Kazakhstan plays a very important role in Central Asia. It is a hub, and the government has been consistently emphasizing AI development. This is a very fast-moving direction,” he said.
According to the expert, in addition to policy focus, Kazakhstan’s relatively low-cost energy resources, both fossil-based and renewable, are becoming a key advantage for data centers and AI infrastructure.
“Energy is directly linked to performance and cost in AI. Countries with affordable and stable energy have a strong competitive edge,” Qu said.
From infrastructure to ecosystem
According to Qu, Kazakhstan’s approach to AI development is structured, with investments in data centers, digital infrastructure and support for open platforms.
“You have a very clear strategy, building data center capacity, supporting open models and APIs for startups. This is a very strong move,” he said.
Such policies, he added, are critical to attracting global technology companies, which are looking not only for markets but also for ecosystems.
“Companies look for a clear strategy, stable policies and a growing ecosystem. Kazakhstan is moving in that direction,” he said.
Global players and regional expansion
For Turing Evolution, a semiconductor company with operations in Silicon Valley, Korea and Dubai, Kazakhstan represents a strategic entry point into Central Asia.
The company is establishing a local presence and exploring partnerships with government institutions, businesses and research organizations.
“For us, it’s not just about entering a market. It’s about bringing our ecosystem – hardware, software and applications – and building something locally,” Qu said.
The company works with NVIDIA, an American semiconductor company, to develop integrated AI solutions that combine hardware and software to simplify deployment for customers.
“We work with NVIDIA to create complete solutions. At the same time, we develop our own GPUs to improve cost competitiveness, especially for data centers,” Qu said, highlighting that this hybrid approach allows companies to leverage global platforms while building differentiated capabilities.
Qu sees Central Asia as being at an early stage of AI development, with Kazakhstan likely to lead the region’s transition. According to him, in the near term, countries will rely on imported technologies and infrastructure, but over time, local capabilities are expected to grow.
“Initially, the region will import solutions. But with more data centers and applications, it will begin to develop its own technologies and eventually export them,” he said.
As the global AI industry shifts toward deployment and real-world applications, demand for infrastructure, efficiency and scalability is expected to intensify.
For Kazakhstan, Qu said, this creates both an opportunity and a challenge, as it requires translating strategic ambitions into a functioning ecosystem capable of attracting investment and generating innovation.
“With the right strategy and continued investment, Kazakhstan can become a key player in the AI ecosystem,” Qu said.
