Jensen Huang visits Kazakhstan: NVIDIA aims to make the country a global hub for physical AI

NVIDIA founder and chief executive Jensen Huang made his first visit to Kazakhstan on October 23 at the invitation of Vice Prime Minister Zhasslan Madiyev. Huang met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Akorda residence, where the parties discussed investments in computing capacity, robotics, and technology development.

"I admire that you have declared your country an AI nation," Huang told Tokayev during the meeting. The President, for his part, called artificial intelligence and digitalization national priorities, noting that 2026 has been declared the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence.

At the alem.ai center platform in Astana, Huang and Vice Prime Minister Madiyev held a discussion on Kazakhstan's AI strategy. Madiyev stated that the country's energy resources, industrial base, and engineering talent are capable of ensuring the development of physical AI — systems that enable robots and autonomous machines to operate in real-world conditions. Huang said that "you will be able to convert energy into intelligence and export intelligence," adding that instead of simply exporting energy, this would open new possibilities.

Huang announced partnerships with Kazakhtelecom and Firebird AI KZ and proposed developing Kazakhstan as a global physical AI hub. Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding, announced that the company is placing an order for the first NVIDIA B300 computing cluster. Freedom Holding also presented plans to create digital twins of Almaty and Astana for training and testing autonomous robots using NVIDIA technologies.

Tokayev awarded Jensen Huang the Order of Dostyk, First Class — a state award previously given to former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Italian President Sergio Mattarella. Huang also highlighted NVIDIA's partnership with Higgsfield — a San Francisco-based AI video and image generation company co-founded by Kazakh entrepreneur Erzat Dulatov.