On the eve of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with leaders of China's tech sector. His main proposal: turn Ekibastuz into the technological heart of Central Asia through the Data Center Valley project, reports infohub.kz.
According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan is creating not just a warehouse for servers but a full-fledged artificial intelligence ecosystem. The choice of Ekibastuz is due to cheap and stable electricity, essential for energy-intensive AI infrastructure.
Chinese investors are offered a ready-made package, including fully equipped data center sites with infrastructure, a special investment and tax regime, as well as access to supercomputer capacities and AI labs.
The president emphasized that the project in Ekibastuz should integrate everything into a single chain — from energy generation and cloud computing to Kazakh startups, research centers, and export of IT services.