Kazakhstan can help the United States to power the AI revolution

The U.S.–Central Asia (C5+1) Summit in Washington this month marked a turning point in how the United States engages with the region. Beyond discussions of energy and security, technology and artificial intelligence emerged as new pillars of cooperation. For Washington, sustaining AI growth now depends on secure energy, resilient digital infrastructure, and diversified supply chains. Investment banks and industry analysts now identify energy supply and cooling capacity as the No. 1 bottleneck to further expansion. AI data centers consume exponentially more power than traditional computing, and their rapid growth is straining existing grids and infrastructure. For Kazakhstan, these are areas where partnership with the United States can deliver practical, mutually advantageous outcomes.

During the summit, Kazakhstan and the U.S. announced several initiatives to deepen cooperation in digital infrastructure and high-performance computing. One of the agreements involves the establishment of a $2 billion regional AI Compute Hub in Kazakhstan in partnership with NVIDIA. Additional memoranda worth over $1 billion were signed with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and Oracle to strengthen collaboration in data infrastructure, cloud services and AI solutions. Together, these initiatives lay the foundation for a transcontinental digital partnership that complements U.S. goals of expanding trusted AI capacity and diversifying computing resources.

These developments show a shared understanding that the AI revolution is not only about algorithms and models, but also about the physical systems that make them possible. AI computing demands immense energy and cooling capacity, which are increasingly constrained in traditional markets. Kazakhstan has both the capacity and resources to help fill that gap. With its existing energy base and expanding renewable capacity, Kazakhstan can develop energy-reliable data centers suited to the growing computational demands of modern AI systems.

For instance, Kazakhstan is the world’s leading producer of uranium, producing over 40 percent of the world’s uranium supply and supplying about a quarter of U.S. imports. The country also holds significant reserves of copper, lithium, tungsten, and rare earth elements. These materials are essential for servers, semiconductors and the broader clean-tech supply chain that supports AI infrastructure. By working together, Kazakhstan and the United States can strengthen critical-mineral security while building new processing capacity closer to where demand is growing. This approach aligns with Washington’s goal of diversifying its supply chains away from single-country dependencies and securing additional partners for the next generation of technology.

But minerals and energy are only part of the story. Kazakhstan is undergoing a rapid digital transformation of its own. The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, established earlier this year, is building national computing capacity, implementing ethical frameworks for high-risk AI systems, and integrating digital technologies across government and industry. Kazakhstan is also developing national computing infrastructure, including a supercomputer and a Kazakh-language large language model.

A key component of this transformation is the Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic project, a subsea cable connecting Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan across the Caspian Sea. Once completed, it will provide a direct link between Central Asia and Europe, offering an additional route for regional and intercontinental data transmission. For the United States, it provides an alternative, secure pathway for data exchange between Asia and Europe.

Global technology firms are already participating in the process. Partnerships with Starlink, Amazon Kuiper and Meta are supporting the rollout of satellite connectivity, cloud infrastructure and language-specific AI tools for Central Asian users. These collaborations could make Kazakhstan an emerging regional digital hub linking Asia and Europe.

Such cooperation builds on a long history of successful U.S. investment in Kazakhstan’s economy. American companies have invested more than $100 billion over the past three decades, and more than 600 U.S. firms currently operate in the country. What is changing now is the focus — from hydrocarbons and logistics toward innovation and knowledge-based industries. The digital and AI agreements announced this month complement that evolution, deepening a relationship that has always been grounded in shared pragmatism.

For the United States, engaging Kazakhstan in this way supports its broader strategic objectives. As AI reshapes industries, demand for computing power is surging faster than domestic grids can expand. Establishing diversified data infrastructure abroad, especially in politically stable, resource-secure environments, can help ensure the resilience of America’s AI ecosystem. It also strengthens Washington’s hand in shaping international standards on data governance, cybersecurity and responsible AI development.

For Kazakhstan, these partnerships support its broader shift toward innovation and technology-driven growth. By hosting compute facilities, training AI specialists and integrating into global value chains, Kazakhstan can move beyond being a supplier of raw materials toward becoming an active participant in the global digital economy.

To sustain AI leadership, Washington will need to address the twin bottlenecks of energy and critical minerals and that requires looking beyond its own borders for complementary partners. The message from this month’s summit is that the next phase of U.S.–Central Asia cooperation will be defined not only by pipelines and railways, but by fiber networks, data centers, and AI systems. The infrastructure of the 21st century is digital, and the United States should build it together with Kazakhstan.

Zhaslan Madiyev is deputy prime minister and minister of AI and Digital Development of Kazakhstan.