ALMATY – Kazakhstan has emerged as the second market for US-based AI infrastructure company Firebird, which is developing a 125-megawatt computing facility in Ekibastuz as part of the country’s broader effort to build domestic artificial intelligence infrastructure and attract a larger share of the global AI economy.
Photo credit: The Astana Times Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev announced the development during the official opening of the first phase of Firebird’s AI campus in Hrazdan, Armenia, on Aug. 8. The event brought together Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang, NVIDIA Vice President Rev Lebaredian, US government representatives, technology companies, investors and industry experts.
Firebird’s Armenian facility is described as the region’s largest operational AI factory based on NVIDIA’s DSX architecture. The company plans to expand its Armenian infrastructure to more than 70,000 NVIDIA Rubin and Blackwell GPUs and 300 MW of computing capacity by the end of 2027.
Kazakhstan is becoming the company’s second major market. In Ekibastuz, Firebird, together with Kazakhtelecom as project operator, is developing the Data Center Valley, with an initial capacity of 125 MW.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev announced the development of AI infrastructure in Kazakhstan during the official opening of the first phase of Firebird’s AI campus in Hrazdan, Armenia, on Aug. 8. Photo credit: Ministry of AI and Digital Development.
The project has received the necessary approvals from the Kazakh government as well as an export authorization from the US Bureau of Industry and Security for the supply of relevant technologies.
Kazakhstan targets global AI infrastructure market
Huang highlighted Kazakhstan alongside Armenia as part of Firebird’s expanding infrastructure network.
“Together with Firebird, we are building AI infrastructure in Armenia and Kazakhstan that will provide researchers, startups and industry with the computing foundation to develop artificial intelligence within their countries, attract international innovators and participate in the global AI economy,” Huang said.
According to Madiyev, the project forms part of Kazakhstan’s efforts to develop domestic computing capacity rather than rely exclusively on external infrastructure.
“Kazakhstan has the necessary energy base, territory and developed digital ecosystem to host large computing capacities. Our task is not only to attract global technology partners, but also to create a complete environment within the country for the development of artificial intelligence, research, startups and new digital services,” he said.
The Data Center Valley builds on plans announced earlier this year to develop a large-scale computing hub in Ekibastuz. Kazakhstan has been discussing the project with major international technology and investment companies, including Microsoft, OpenAI, G42 and Mubadala. The project has been envisioned as capable of eventually scaling to up to one gigawatt of computing capacity and attracting around $30 billion in investment.
Why Ekibastuz matters
Kazakhstan’s energy resources therefore provide one of the main potential advantages for developing large computing facilities. At the same time, the government is seeking to upgrade the digital infrastructure needed to connect these facilities to international markets.
One such project is the Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic Cable, which is being built between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. The new submarine connection is expected to establish an additional high-speed data route toward Europe, strengthening the infrastructure supporting international cloud and AI services.
Together, the projects point to a broader approach in which Kazakhstan is attempting to develop several layers of an AI ecosystem simultaneously: electricity and data centers on one side, international connectivity and computing capacity on the other, and regulation, talent and startups to build applications on top of that infrastructure.
Firebird plans to continue expanding internationally and aims to bring its total global AI infrastructure capacity to 2 gigawatts across Armenia, Kazakhstan and other markets by the end of 2028.
The company has also announced plans for NVIDIA to invest in Firebird, while CoreWeave has previously invested in the company. The new funding is expected to support the accelerated development of Firebird’s global AI infrastructure.
