Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Make First-Ever Visit to Kazakhstan for National AI Month Celebration in October

ASTANA — Nvidia founder and Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang will travel to Kazakhstan next month for his first visit to the country, appearing as a special guest of AI Month, a national program bringing together artificial intelligence specialists, developers, startups, researchers and technology companies from across the region.

Huang will visit Kazakhstan at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, according to the ministry's press service. His visit is scheduled for October 23, coinciding with the conclusion of AI Month at a special event held at the International Center for Artificial Intelligence, known as alem.ai.

During the visit, Huang and Madiyev are set to hold a fireside chat covering a range of topics, including global AI development trends, major shifts within the broader technology industry, the preparation of a new generation of AI specialists, and Central Asia's broader position on the global technology map.

Madiyev framed Kazakhstan's ambitions within the global AI industry in terms of the country's capacity to build, rather than simply access, advanced technology. "Today, countries' competitiveness is determined not only by access to technology, but also by the ability to create their own solutions and develop world-class teams," Madiyev said. He described the government's broader goal for the country's technology sector directly. "We seek to make Kazakhstan a hub for AI talent across Central Eurasia — a place where a strong idea can gain access to expertise, partnerships and an opportunity to reach the global market," he added.

AI Month formally opens September 23 with HackAlem AI, an event organizers describe as one of the world's largest artificial intelligence hackathons. Participants in the hackathon will have access to Nvidia technology resources to help develop and test their own AI solutions over the course of the program. The broader AI Month schedule will also include a meeting of the Council for the Development of Artificial Intelligence on October 1, with Nvidia Vice President Rev Lebaredian participating in that session ahead of Huang's own visit later in the month.

Huang's planned appearance brings one of the global technology industry's most prominent executives directly to Kazakhstan at a moment when the country is actively working to strengthen its international technology partnerships and build out its domestic artificial intelligence ecosystem. As the leader of Nvidia, the chipmaker whose graphics processing units have become central to the global buildout of AI infrastructure, Huang's participation in AI Month is likely to draw significant international attention to Kazakhstan's broader ambitions within the sector.

Kazakhstan's engagement with the global AI industry extends well beyond the AI Month program itself. One notable example is Higgsfield, an AI-powered video and image generation platform valued at $5.4 billion. The company participates in Astana Hub, Kazakhstan's technology and startup ecosystem initiative, and relies on Nvidia's computing infrastructure and AI software to power its platform, which supports more than six million video and image generations daily, according to available data. Higgsfield has maintained close ties to Kazakhstan and Astana's broader technology community, cooperating directly with Astana Hub to support the development of the country's regional technology ecosystem.

Higgsfield Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Yerzat Dulat pointed to the company's own growth as evidence of the country's broader potential within the global AI sector. "Kazakhstan has an exceptional opportunity to become an important centre for AI innovation and talent attraction," Dulat said. He credited the combination of local talent and international partnerships for enabling that growth. "Higgsfield shows what becomes possible when outstanding talent from the region receives support from a strong local technology ecosystem and world-class partners such as NVIDIA," he added.

The timing of Huang's visit places it within a broader wave of recent Kazakhstani government initiatives aimed at positioning the country as a regional technology and AI hub. AI Month itself is designed to bring together hackathons, investment summits and technology forums across the country over the course of the program, reflecting a coordinated government push to attract international technology investment and talent to Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, which is coordinating Huang's visit alongside the broader AI Month program, has positioned the initiative as part of a longer-term strategy to build out the country's domestic AI capabilities rather than simply serve as a market for foreign AI technology products. That strategy has included efforts to attract international AI companies and executives to the country, cultivate homegrown technology talent, and establish physical infrastructure, including the International Center for Artificial Intelligence where Huang's fireside chat with Madiyev is scheduled to take place.

With AI Month set to run through October and Huang's appearance serving as the program's capstone event, Kazakhstani officials are likely to use the visit to further highlight the country's growing ties to major global technology companies, building on existing relationships such as the one between Nvidia and Higgsfield, as the government continues pursuing its broader goal of establishing Kazakhstan as a significant hub for AI talent and investment across Central Eurasia.