Kazakhstan is moving ahead with a large AI-compute buildout led by Firebird and national telecom operator Kazakhtelecom. Firebird says it has secured a US export license for 45,000 Nvidia Grace Blackwell GPUs, with the first phase under construction at Data Center Valley and a commercial launch targeted for the third quarter of 2027.
A planned second phase could bring the project’s total capacity to about 500 megawatts. Firebird also intends to establish a local lab that would provide startups and researchers with funding, compute access and partnerships. The timeline and larger expansion remain plans rather than completed capacity.
Kazakhtelecom has separately deployed 400 H200 and 480 B300 GPUs in Astana and Almaty. It plans to add more than 1,000 GPUs at Data Center Valley next year and over 1,000 Vera Rubin GPUs in the Ekibastuz region. Nvidia also announced an investment in Kazakhstan-founded generative-media company Higgsfield.
The announcements coincide with plans by inDrive and Pony.ai to explore robotaxi service in Astana. Kazakhstan’s goal extends beyond hosting hardware: officials want domestic models that reflect the Kazakh language and culture. Turning the infrastructure into useful local capability will still require developers, reliable energy, training programs and applications that can justify the substantial planned capacity.