Astana, 27 October. During the visit to Kazakhstan of NVIDIA founder and chief executive Jensen Huang, it was proposed to set up a regional centre for physical artificial intelligence, the NVIDIA Physical AI Hub, bringing together universities and industrial companies to train staff and develop applied solutions, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education said.
Physical AI refers to systems that do not just process text and images but act in the real world, controlling robots, driverless vehicles and industrial equipment. The ministry already works with NVIDIA through the Deep Learning Institute (DLI), the company's training arm that prepares and certifies teachers and students in AI.
The centre would be built in stages. First, Kazakh universities would get access to NVIDIA DLI courses, learning materials and practical classes with certification; teachers would be certified free of charge. The trained teachers would then teach students at their own universities. The technical base would be existing university infrastructure and available cloud computing capacity. The ministry did not say who made the proposal, NVIDIA or the Kazakh side, nor the timing or cost of the project.
What it means: The first concrete educational programme is growing out of the NVIDIA chief's visit: not a factory or a supercomputer, but certification of university teachers in the company's technologies. It is a step towards what Huang spoke about at Akorda, making Kazakhstan a platform for physical AI.
Who benefits: Students and teachers, who get free training and certificates in the technologies of the world leader in AI chips. NVIDIA, which gains specialists used to its platform and future buyers of its hardware in the region. Industrial companies, which would get staff for automation if the centre takes off.
Background: Jensen Huang made his first visit to Kazakhstan on 23 October; at a meeting with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, he proposed turning Kazakhstan into a global hub for physical AI, citing its potential in energy, science and technology. In the same days inDrive, Pony.ai and NVIDIA announced preparations for a driverless taxi service in Astana.
We have also reported that Tokayev said the NVIDIA chief's recommendations were of great practical value.
