NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Sees Kazakhstan as Emerging AI Hub on First Visit

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang said Kazakhstan has the energy resources, technological talent and growing computing infrastructure needed to develop its own artificial intelligence industry. Speaking during his first visit to the country on Oct. 23, he urged Kazakhstan to turn its natural resources into a competitive advantage in the global AI economy.

In a fireside chat with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, Huang praised the country's rapid progress. His visit concluded Kazakhstan's AI Month. Speaking at the alem.ai International AI Center, he said Kazakhstan could export intelligence rather than only energy, and stressed the importance of sovereign AI and control over national data.

Huang also highlighted NVIDIA's investment in Higgsfield, an AI video-generation startup valued at $5.4 billion, and its role in the Data Center Valley project in Ekibastuz. NVIDIA also reported that U.S.-based Firebird signed an investment agreement with the Kazakh government and secured a U.S. export license for 45,000 NVIDIA Grace Blackwell GPUs.