Kazakhstan signs $10 billion AI deal with Firebird, backed by Nvidia

Kazakhstan has signed a $10 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure agreement with U.S. startup Firebird Inc., with support from Nvidia ↘ 1.84%, in what represents one of Central Asia's largest technology investments to date.

The Deal

The accords, reported by Bloomberg, involve computing projects that could bring as much as $10 billion in investment to the country. The agreement centers on building out Kazakhstan's Data Center Valley in Ekibastuz, located in the northeastern Pavlodar region, where the government has allocated 1,400 hectares of land for what it envisions as the largest data center campus in Central Asia.astanatimes+4

The first phase calls for $5 billion in investment, including $1 billion from state-owned Kazakhtelecom. A 125-megawatt facility is planned to begin commercial operations in 2027, deploying 100,000 next-generation Nvidia GB300 and Vera Rubin chips. Deputy Prime Minister Zhaslan Madiyev has said the project is expected to generate at least $3 billion in annual export revenue and position Kazakhstan as a key digital hub in Eurasia.thetechcapital+1

Firebird's Growing Footprint

San Francisco-based Firebird emerged from stealth in mid-2025 with a $500 million AI partnership with the Armenian government, also backed by Nvidia. The company scaled that project rapidly, announcing in February 2026 that it had secured U.S. export licensing for an additional 41,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs to Armenia, bringing its total investment there to roughly $4 billion. The Kazakhstan deal now dwarfs those earlier commitments and marks Firebird's expansion beyond the Caucasus into Central Asia.theaiinsider+3

Kazakhstan's AI Ambitions

The agreement builds on Kazakhstan's broader push to become a regional technology power. In early 2025, Kazakhtelecom launched Central Asia's first commercial sovereign AI factory powered by Nvidia H200 GPUs. In November 2025, Nvidia finalized a separate $2 billion contract to supply Kazakhstan with AI accelerators. The Data Center Valley project, with a planned total energy capacity of up to 1 gigawatt, has attracted interest valued at up to $30 billion across multiple investors, according to earlier reporting.telecomtv+3

Nvidia's Vera Rubin platform, announced at CES 2026 and now in full production, delivers five times the inference performance of the company's previous Blackwell architecture.finance.yahoo+1