Tokayev Sets AI Economy Goals for Kazakhstan, Linking Digital Jobs to Power, Water and Industry

Two supercomputers and a deadline for digital work

Kazakhstan plans to commission a third supercomputer and simplify the legal rules for digital employment by the end of 2026, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his October 28 address. His wider goal is to turn the country's growing digital infrastructure into higher incomes, stronger industries and more productive farms.

Two supercomputers are already operating, data centers are under construction, and a fiber optic cable across the Caspian seabed has been completed, according to the infrastructure update presented in the address. Tokayev said the next challenge under the Digital Qazaqstan strategy was delivering useful results, rather than buying technology without a clear purpose.

The president connected that challenge to practical demands: helping rural producers sell goods, applying artificial intelligence to agriculture, finding mineral deposits with modern technology and measuring water supplies before approving industrial projects. He also set a target for a sustained electricity surplus by 2029, because the digital economy will need more power.

Tokayev, Kazakhstan's president, described the intended beneficiary of these investments in simple terms:

"Our goal is to build a truly people-centered digital economy," Tokayev said.

His proposals bring together two kinds of development that are often discussed separately: digital services and physical infrastructure. Computing systems need electricity, factories need reliable water, and farmers selling through a phone still need storage and transport. The address puts those connections at the center of Kazakhstan's next development phase.

From convenient apps to income opportunities

Kazakhstan's residents can already open bank accounts, arrange installment payments and buy goods online within minutes, Tokayev said. Millions use marketplaces, food delivery platforms, taxi services and banking applications. He argued that the next stage should expand what people can earn and produce through those services.

The government is to establish a simplified legal regime for digital employment by the end of 2026. The announcement covers online work, including freelance activity, but gives no detailed rules on eligibility, taxation or worker protections.

Rural residents are a particular focus. Tokayev wants existing business support to be connected with private marketplaces, banks, logistics companies and digital services, giving producers more than loans and subsidies. The practical goal is to help them make products, reach customers, receive payments and arrange delivery.

In 2027, the government and business community are to launch pilot projects in several regions to help rural producers market their goods. Successful approaches would then be extended across the country. For a small farm, this would mean support with finding buyers and completing sales, alongside the financing needed to produce a crop.

Tokayev also proposed using AI inside government to remove duplicated functions, prevent unjustified budget spending and improve tax collection. These administrative changes share the same test as the rural projects: whether technology improves the work being done.

Digital ownership could open another route to capital

Asset tokenization is another part of Tokayev's proposed digital economy. In plain language, tokenization creates digital units representing rights in a company or another asset. The rights attached to those units depend on the legal arrangements governing them.

Tokayev said the approach could allow citizens to become joint owners of companies and other assets, while helping entrepreneurs raise money directly with fewer intermediaries. A business seeking investment could, under such a system, offer digital ownership interests to participating investors.

The president acknowledged that Kazakhstan was still at an early stage in commercializing AI, tokenizing assets, developing blockchain technology and building connected digital platforms. He instructed the government to prepare a program for the practical use of digital technology across the economy.

His warning about spending was direct. Tokayev, discussing the difference between acquiring software and obtaining useful results, said:

"Digitalisation must not be reduced to purchasing expensive software products without understanding their practical value," the President said.

A proposed computing export industry takes shape

NVIDIA chief executive Jensen Huang visited Astana on October 23, 2026, five days before the address. The visit brought attention to Kazakhstan's ambitions to sell computing services abroad and develop domestic applications of AI.

A package of agreements announced in June 2026 involving Firebird and NVIDIA was valued at $10 billion. Plans envisage approximately 100,000 NVIDIA GB300 and Vera Rubin accelerators over time. Accelerators are specialized processors that carry out the large numbers of calculations needed to train and run AI systems.

The Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development described a planned data center cluster targeting 1 gigawatt of power capacity. Capacity of 215 megawatts had been reserved for the first phase, with 300 megawatts expected in 2027. Those figures represent 21.5 percent and 30 percent of the eventual 1,000 megawatt target.

Minister Zhaslan Madiyev said the project could generate at least $3 billion in annual export revenue. The business model is to use electricity to run servers and sell their computing capacity to customers, including companies abroad that need to train AI models or process data.

Kazakhtelecom management board chairman Bagdat Mussin described this model as converting electricity generated from Ekibastuz coal into a technology export service. The revenue would come from providing computing work, adding another use for Kazakhstan's energy resources alongside its traditional exports.

Madiyev also said Astana Hub had more than 2,500 startups and IT companies exporting services to over 100 countries. During Huang's visit, he met the founders of Higgsfield, an AI video generation company that works with NVIDIA technology.

Electricity supply becomes an AI requirement

Kazakhstan produces 123 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, Tokayev said. He described that level as inadequate for growing demand from industry, construction, agriculture and the planned expansion of data centers.

His target is a sustained electricity surplus by 2029. Reaching it will require new power plants and transmission lines, modernization of existing facilities and an updated national energy balance running through 2035. That balance is a planning tool matching expected electricity demand with future supply.

Tokayev called for coal generation using cleaner technologies and for particular attention to renewable energy, especially solar power. The proposed computing industry therefore adds urgency to decisions about both the amount of electricity Kazakhstan produces and how it is generated.

Power capacity and electricity production measure different things. Megawatts describe the rate at which a facility can use or supply power; kilowatt hours measure electricity used or generated over time. A large computing cluster needs dependable supply throughout its operating hours, making grid reliability as important as the size of its server installations.

AI moves beyond screens into mines and factories

Huang was shown Kazakh projects including ARC Aero, which develops unmanned aircraft and autonomous control systems, and QazTWIN, which creates digital twins of industrial facilities and infrastructure. A digital twin is a computer representation of a real asset that can help people monitor conditions and test operational decisions.

These projects fit the field known as Physical AI, where software uses information from cameras and sensors to interact with the physical world. Kazakhstan also proposed that NVIDIA establish a hub for this work.

Applications discussed for Kazakhstan include inspecting hazardous mining areas, anticipating equipment failures, monitoring energy infrastructure and moving goods in warehouses. Such uses connect AI investment to the country's existing industrial base.

Geological exploration is another priority. Tokayev called for advanced methods to study the country's underground resources, transparent and accessible geological data, and more private investment in finding and exploring deposits.

He also proposed a national system for managing critical metal reserves, financing for mining projects over longer periods and consideration of purchase agreements guaranteeing demand for domestic production. These agreements, often called off-take contracts, give a producer an identified buyer for future output. A national stockpile of nonferrous and rare earth metals and partnerships with developed countries were also proposed.

Tokayev cautioned against poorly coordinated industrial expansion. He cited the operating metallurgical enterprise Qarmet and plans for similar facilities in three other regions, questioning whether the market could absorb their combined output. Regions should choose priorities while also developing education, applied science, logistics, services and related manufacturing, he said.

Farms already have digital tools to build on

Kazakhstan's agricultural modernization begins with systems already in use. Zhaksylyk Yerkinbek, head of the Agriculture Ministry's division responsible for public services and digitalization in the agricultural sector, said 75 of the ministry's 80 public services were delivered digitally.

That is 93.75 percent of its services. Farmers can apply for livestock and crop subsidies remotely using an electronic digital signature, reducing the need to visit local government offices.

Yerkinbek also described reimbursement of 25 percent of investment costs for multifunctional drones. Weather stations, autonomous tractors and combine harvesters, and GPS equipment are being used in planting and harvesting. Satellite monitoring helps track soil conditions and whether land is being used for its designated purpose.

Tokayev called for faster technological modernization and more domestic production of advanced tractors and combine harvesters. He endorsed Huang's recommendation to introduce AI into agriculture.

Tokayev, explaining his response to the NVIDIA chief executive's proposal, said:

"In my view, this is a very timely proposal. We must begin implementing it as soon as possible," Tokayev said.

Aibar Olzhai, external relations manager at the Kazakhstan Sustainability Fund, described potential uses including modeling production, allocating resources and predicting outcomes. For farmers, the practical aim is to obtain more output from each hectare and use inputs more efficiently.

Higher yields depend on water and financing

Tokayev said irrigating agricultural land near major water sources could increase yields of traditional crops to between two and 2.5 times their current level. That represents a potential increase of 100 to 150 percent, tied to irrigation and better farming methods.

Water shortages make the conditions attached to that ambition crucial. The president called for advanced water conservation and agrochemical methods when developing land, tighter control of consumption, fewer losses in water networks and action against misuse of drinking water, particularly at car washes.

He also called for water prices that reflect the resource's actual value and completion of tariff reform. The government was told to finish the National Water Resources Information System as soon as possible. Accurate information about supply and consumption would help officials decide where new farms and industrial facilities can operate.

Financing and processing capacity are another part of the agricultural program. Baiterek had prepared prospective food industry projects worth more than 500 billion tenge, and Tokayev called for affordable financing and investment resources that farmers could use over longer periods.

He cited 71 operating commercial dairy farms producing more than 462,000 tonnes of milk annually, corn and soy cultivation and processing in Kyzylorda Region, a cotton and textile cluster being developed by a Chinese company in Turkistan Region, and a meat cluster in Akmola Region. Storage, sales and access to agricultural logistics centers were also identified as priorities.

Production gains need routes to customers

Kazakhstan's effort to diversify its economy provides a wider setting for the technology push. Olzhai said manufacturing grew 8.6 percent and gross domestic product increased 4.2 percent during a period of nine months, despite an 8.3 percent fall in oil production.

He also pointed to development of the North–South transport corridor and an agreement for a Kazakh terminal at Iran's Bandar Abbas port. The corridor offers access to South Asian and other markets, connecting domestic production with buyers beyond Kazakhstan.

Olzhai put current freight volumes at 3.2 million tonnes annually against a target of 20 million tonnes. Reaching that goal would require a volume 6.25 times the current level. The scale of the target shows why transport capacity matters alongside digital marketplaces and production technology.

Tokayev's regional approach similarly links factories with supporting services and skills. An enterprise needs trained workers, suppliers and routes to customers. A rural producer needs delivery and storage arrangements after an online order arrives. Digital tools become economically useful when these surrounding systems work with them.

Construction plans carry funding and deadlines

Tokayev proposed making 2027 the Year of Nationwide Large-Scale Construction, following the 2026 Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. The People's Construction initiative would cover roads, airports, railway stations, health facilities, rehabilitation centers for children with special needs, housing, libraries, sports facilities, creative centers and scientific centers.

The published text of Tokayev's address puts proposed National Fund infrastructure financing through 2029 at approximately 6.5 trillion tenge; a figure of 6.5 billion tenge was also reported for the program. The address calls for 1.5 trillion tenge for social projects during 2026 and the first two months of 2027.

Tokayev wants domestic factories to supply construction materials, metal structures and engineering equipment for the infrastructure drive. Deputy Prime Minister and National Economy Minister Serik Zhumangarin said the government would continue using National Fund resources for major infrastructure projects.

The main dates connect immediate regulatory changes with investment extending over several years:

• June 2026: Kazakhstan announced agreements involving Firebird and NVIDIA valued at $10 billion.
• October 23, 2026: Jensen Huang visited Astana and reviewed technology projects.
• October 28, 2026: Tokayev set out the digital economy, industrial and infrastructure agenda.
• By the end of 2026: A third supercomputer and simplified rules for digital employment are planned.
• In 2027: Regional digital pilots for rural producers and the proposed nationwide construction drive are to begin.
• By 2029: Kazakhstan aims for a sustained electricity surplus, alongside the proposed infrastructure funding program.
• Through 2035: An updated national energy balance is to guide longer term planning.

The first practical milestones are therefore close: bringing additional computing capacity into service and establishing rules for digital work. The regional sales pilots follow in 2027, while the power and infrastructure programs carry the larger task of supporting that activity at national scale.

Key Points

• Tokayev wants digital investment to increase incomes and production, with simpler rules for online work by the end of 2026.
• Two supercomputers are operating, a third is planned, and the Caspian fiber optic cable is reported complete.
• A proposed computing cluster targets 1 gigawatt of power capacity and could generate at least $3 billion in annual exports, according to Minister Zhaslan Madiyev.
• Kazakhstan aims for a sustained electricity surplus by 2029 to support industrial and digital growth.
• Agricultural priorities include AI, irrigation, water accounting, processing and better access to customers.
• Regional digital pilots and a proposed nationwide construction drive are planned for 2027.