By KRIKOR KHODANIAN
The American cloud-computing and artificial intelligence company Firebird announced last week that it will make an initial investment of 500 million dollars in Armenia, in cooperation with Dell and NVIDIA. These latter two are giants in the field of high technology—Dell as a major computer manufacturer and NVIDIA as a leading artificial intelligence company. NVIDIA is currently considered the world’s largest corporation, with a valuation of 4.3 trillion dollars, surpassing both Apple and Microsoft.
On the occasion of Firebird’s entry into Armenia, the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan issued a statement emphasizing that this significant development advances the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on partnership in the fields of artificial intelligence and semiconductors, signed during the Washington summit on August 8. This is also an important step forward in Armenian-American trade and investment relations.
The Embassy’s statement, linking this investment project to the signing of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace memorandum and to the development of Armenian-American relations, underscores its political dimension. It is connected not only to the agreement reached through the mediation of President Trump, but also to the Armenian-American bilateral cooperation memorandum signed during the final days of President Biden’s administration. That memorandum covered a variety of fields, including advanced technology alongside defense, the economy, and other sectors. Many had expressed concern that this agreement had lost its value with the change of administration in the White House. However, since then, the American side has taken several steps consistent with the spirit of that memorandum—among them this latest development, now being implemented thanks to the U.S. government’s export authorization.
It was also recently revealed that Apple will be sending a delegation to Armenia to study potential avenues for expanding the company’s activities there.
The high-technology sector is considered the fastest-growing field in Armenia, employing tens of thousands of young people who receive high salaries. Companies from around the world collaborate with Armenian specialists on programming and digitalization projects. As a result, Armenia already has the necessary infrastructure and human resources to implement investment projects of this scale. For this reason, Armenia is sometimes described as the “Silicon Valley of the South Caucasus.”
Companies like Firebird and Apple would not seek to invest without confidence in the security situation of the country. In short, foreign companies are now interested in Armenia because they recognize that the country has emerged from a state of war and has embarked on the path of peace. They are also confident that Azerbaijan, too, has closed the chapter on war.
With the arrival of major advanced-technology companies, Armenia is entering a new era—one that will create thousands of new jobs with high salaries and further stimulate the country’s economic development. In turn, these opportunities will encourage the younger generation to remain in their native land and contribute to the growth of their homeland.
“MASSIS”
Note: Translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.
