Freedom Holding Estimates Initial Kazakhstan AI Hub Investment at About $2 Billion
Key Facts
Freedom Holding estimates the initial investment for a sovereign artificial intelligence hub in Kazakhstan at about $2 billion, according to its annual report for the fiscal year ended March 2026, noting that the figure is an initial internal estimate, not an approved final cost. The project is based on a non-binding memorandum of understanding signed by the company, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and NVIDIA in November 2025, and is expected to be implemented in stages. The company announced an agreement at the time to develop a Sovereign AI Hub with a stated value of $2 billion, with Freedom as the primary financing and implementation partner. In its report, the company said the investment could change significantly depending on the final scope and configuration. This means the announced value does not yet settle the scale of spending the project will require or its final structure.
Key steps remain before an implementation plan is finalized. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Freedom said the project requires significant capital expenditure and that the company may not complete its determination of the scope, site selection or required approvals within the expected timelines. The annual report describes the feasibility study as ongoing, while the company links its initial estimate to the equipment and configuration ultimately adopted. The $2 billion figure therefore is not a final commitment to spend that amount, and the project stages remain dependent on resolving details and financing. This caveat is consistent with the memorandum of understanding being described as non-binding. The company did not specify a deadline for completing construction or a confirmed financing amount in the filing.
The announced plan includes a site in Kazakhstan with 100 megawatts of available power to host the hub, with the project to be implemented in stages. The government said Freedom would operate the hub using NVIDIA high-performance infrastructure, while the ministry would prepare operating conditions and support academic initiatives and an artificial intelligence research laboratory. The ministry had said its role would include supporting the operation of large-scale AI systems and leading related talent-development programs. The plan combines computing equipment and available power with the development of local human and research capabilities. The AI minister said the proposed sovereign infrastructure would strengthen the economy and competitiveness and open new opportunities for the region, reflecting the government’s bet on the project’s impact beyond the data center itself.
As an indication of the demand underpinning the company’s infrastructure expansion, Chief Executive Timur Turlov said in October 2026 that current demand for the first phase of Freedom’s NVIDIA-equipped center was equivalent to 200% of the capacity the company had built. Kazinform quoted him as saying: "Current demand is already 200% of what we have built." He added that several major customers ready to buy capacity had told him they would take 100 megawatts for 5 years at a premium price if that capacity were built. The statement offers a picture of stated commercial demand exceeding completed capacity, but concerns Freedom’s first NVIDIA-equipped center and does not by itself establish the scale of confirmed demand for the Sovereign AI Hub. Kazinform said the company planned to launch the first phase of the Freedom AI Super Cluster in the first quarter of 2027, and the second and third phases during 2027–2028; this is a separate project from the sovereign hub.
The hub project is part of the company’s broader expansion in data centers, but it should not be confused with the Akashi Data Center campus under construction in Astana. Kazinform says the separate campus is planned to have capacity of up to 100 megawatts and 4,200 server racks. The government describes the sovereign hub project as national AI infrastructure operated by Freedom and supported by the ministry through operating conditions and academic and research programs. In a later government announcement, the ministry said a separate memorandum of understanding it signed with Citi and Freedom aims to develop a large-scale cluster serving the government, businesses and researchers. It added that Citi would explore innovative financing approaches to support the cluster’s development and computing capacity for those groups, without this meaning that financing arrangements had been finalized.
Officials’ statements link the project to Kazakhstan’s ambition to export computing services to broader markets. On October 23, 2026, NVIDIA Chief Executive Jensen Huang said Kazakhstan aspired to become a hub for computing and AI factories for Europe, saying: "We will be a hub for computing and AI factories for all of Europe." The statement presents a national ambition broader than Freedom’s project and its phased plans, and does not specify a timeline or volume for actual computing exports. In trading, Freedom Holding shares, listed under the ticker FRHC, closed at $171.22 on October 23, 2026, compared with a close of $167.49 in the previous session, according to EL7 data. The price places the stock’s performance in the context of the two sessions, without establishing a link between the change and announcements about the AI hub.