Uzbekistan to strengthen AI ecosystem through partnership with Nvidia

Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov held talks with Nvidia’s leadership late last week to discuss cooperation opportunities within the national AI development strategy. The sides reviewed several potential projects aimed at advancing AI infrastructure in Uzbekistan.

Specifically, the plan envisions the creation of two high-performance computing clusters with a combined capacity of 1 MW. One of these clusters will be dedicated to education and research, while the other will support projects in digital government, healthcare, banking, and industrial AI.

Final agreements are expected to be signed in 2026. The ministry noted that the contract timeline will depend on the availability of equipment and on export control approvals from the U.S. government.

In addition, Uzbekistan will launch an AI Center of Excellence based on Nvidia technologies, valued at $3 million. The center will focus on training educators in artificial intelligence and offering professional development courses.

The government also intends to purchase Nvidia hardware to establish supercomputing AI infrastructure at leading universities. The purchase agreement is expected to be finalized by the end of this year.

Another area of cooperation involves knowledge exchange. Nvidia will share open information and best practices with Uzbekistan on AI project management, economic applications, and ecosystem development.