ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s new national supercomputer can perform in just one second as many calculations as the entire world’s population – all 8 billion people – could do in over four days if each person solved one equation every second, said Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev in an interview with the Jibek Joly TV channel on July 9.
Zhaslan Madiyev. Photo credit: Digital Business.
The supercomputer was officially launched on Wednesday by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The system is expected to play a key role in accelerating Kazakhstan’s adoption of artificial intelligence, advancing scientific research, and enhancing digital sovereignty.
The new supercomputing cluster is powered by NVIDIA H200 graphics processors and delivers a performance capacity of up to two exaflops using FP8 precision. This makes it the most powerful computing system in Central Asia.
A strategic move toward technological independence
Madiyev described the launch as a strategic leap toward national technological independence. Until now, many Kazakhstan’s startups, financial institutions, and research centers relied on foreign cloud providers such as Amazon and Google to rent computing power, often at high cost and with potential risks to data security. With introduced domestic infrastructure, sensitive workloads and large-scale AI training can be conducted entirely within Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan trains local specialists
To ensure the long-term success of the initiative, Kazakhstan is investing in local expertise. Engineers have already completed specialized training programs, and over the next five years, more professionals will be educated to manage and expand high-performance computing operations. Madiyev confirmed that full operational control of the supercomputer will gradually transition to Kazakhstan’s specialists.
Expanding access to supercomputing
Access to the system will be provided through the newly established national program, QazCompute. Under this framework, startups, universities, research institutions, and government agencies will be able to use the supercomputer at no cost. More established technology firms and international companies relocating to Kazakhstan, notably those hiring local talent and working in export-oriented sectors, will benefit from significant discounts. Other international users will be offered access at standard commercial rates.
The goal is to make advanced computing power affordable and widely available, giving local developers and scientists the tools they need to build AI models, analyze large datasets, and create cutting-edge digital products.
New US chip quota opened door for Kazakhstan’s supercomputer project
The supercomputing cluster was made possible through swift government action after the United States introduced a quota system for high-performance chips in January. This new policy enabled Kazakhstan to import advanced NVIDIA hardware legally and without the need for a special export license. Anticipating stricter regulations coming into effect in May, the Kazakh government moved quickly to design the system, inspect and upgrade its data center facilities, and complete the delivery of the equipment on time, said Madiyev to Digital Business.
Looking ahead: toward 10 exaflops
Madiyev noted that this launch is only the beginning. According to expert estimates, Kazakhstan will eventually require at least 10 exaflops of supercomputing capacity to meet future demand from its growing digital economy. To support continued expansion, the government has created a favorable regulatory environment, including exemptions from customs duties and the ability to offset value-added tax on imported computing infrastructure.
