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Kazakhstan Opens AI Center and Signs $2 Billion Computing Hub Deal
The government opened a spherical AI facility in Astana and signed an agreement to build a 100 MW sovereign AI hub. Officials also declared 2026 the Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence and passed the region's first comprehensive AI law.
The IndependentAudio version
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Kazakhstan opened an eight-story spherical building in central Astana designed to move residents from basic AI exposure to advanced research and government use. The ground floor contains an AI kids zone, cinema, museum and cafe, while upper floors house education programs, startup accelerators and research labs used by Google and Telegram.
The top floor operates as an AI-driven government office that applies technologies developed on lower floors to economic and public-sector projects. Officials described the structure as a funnel that begins with children and ends with commercial deployment.
In November the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development signed an agreement with Freedom Holding to develop a $2 billion sovereign AI hub operated in collaboration with Nvidia. The project is expected to deliver 100 MW of computing capacity once completed.
The government passed the first comprehensive AI law in Central Asia and issued a January decree naming 2026 the Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence. More than 90 per cent of public services are now available online, placing the country 24th of 193 nations on the UN e-government development index.
Officials also announced an AI film festival scheduled for October in Astana that will showcase films created with artificial intelligence tools. The same month, OpenAI said it would partner with the government on educational initiatives after identifying Kazakhstan as the most AI-ready country in the region.
Kazakhstan's economy remains centered on fossil fuels, minerals and raw commodities. Government statements have linked expanded AI use to efforts to diversify away from these sectors ahead of a global shift toward renewable technologies. Freedom Holding CEO Timur Turlov said the hub would give Kazakhstan electricity and infrastructure already secured, positioning the country at the top of Central Asia for supercomputing facilities and potentially inside the global top 20.
