Just a few years ago, a data center was not perceived as an element of core national economic infrastructure. The situation changed sharply with the onset of the global artificial intelligence boom.
AI is beginning to fundamentally restructure digital infrastructure architecture. Most of the world’s existing data centers were designed for a completely different era. If just a few years ago the standard load was considered to be 5–10 kW per rack, modern AI clusters require 80–100 kW and above — a completely different level of power consumption, cooling, and redundancy.
Many data centers built 5–10 years ago were never designed for such loads. This is a global process — even in the US and Europe, existing capacity is technically present but poorly suited for the tasks of the new generation of AI systems.
For Kazakhstan, most of the local infrastructure was created for classic corporate tasks, telecom loads, or basic hosting. AI is sharply changing the rules.
The industry is splitting into two segments: next-generation infrastructure for AI workloads and high-density computing, and classic capacity for standard tasks, where competition is intensifying and margins are declining.
Against the backdrop of the AI boom, data centers are transforming from auxiliary technical infrastructure into a full-fledged strategic resource. The largest technology companies are investing tens of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure. According to Goldman Sachs estimates, global data center energy consumption could grow by more than 160% by 2030.
In Central Asia, interest in next-generation infrastructure is already palpable. The first block of the Akashi Data Center project is reserved at 103%, with a significant portion of demand coming from foreign companies and international players.
Just a few years ago, Central Asia barely figured in global conversations about digital infrastructure. Now the international market is more actively seeking new capacity locations due to questions of resilience, risk diversification, and the saturation of traditional hubs.
For Kazakhstan, this creates a rare opportunity to enter a new market at the moment of its active formation. But speed is becoming critically important. AI is developing significantly faster than most previous technology cycles. Countries that can prepare a modern infrastructure base in time will gain a serious economic and technological advantage.
Source: Kursiv Media