The Republic of Armenia has officially commissioned the first phase of the ambitious Firebird project — one of the largest computing complexes for artificial intelligence in the South Caucasus. The infrastructure is built on advanced Nvidia graphics processors, and its launch was made possible by an exclusive export license issued by Washington as part of the peace settlement package with Baku.
Firebird: 6,000 processors and 18 megawatts of power
The first phase of the data center, located near the city of Hrazdan, went live in August 2026. Total investment at this stage amounted to $500 million. Inside, more than 6,000 Nvidia Blackwell processors have been installed, and the total computing capacity of the infrastructure reaches 18 megawatts. Notably, the project initially received a license for only 6,000 chips, but after the signing of the peace treaty, U.S. regulators approved the export of an additional batch of 41,000 Nvidia GB300 accelerators — the company's most powerful solutions for AI tasks.
The scale of the initiative extends far beyond the initial stage. According to my estimates, the total volume of future investments will exceed $4 billion, and the number of processors is planned to be increased to more than 100,000 units by the end of 2027. In parallel, the energy base will also expand: the complex's capacity will grow from the current 18 to 400+ megawatts, which is necessary to power and cool tens of thousands of accelerators operating under constant load.
Why the export license became the decisive factor
It is important to understand: the United States did not transfer chips to Armenia free of charge. The purchase of equipment and construction of infrastructure are financed by investors, and the key advantage from Washington's side was precisely the issuance of the export permit. The U.S. strictly controls access to the most powerful AI processors for security reasons. Obtaining such a license is not only an economic benefit but also a marker of high political trust in the recipient country.
The Armenian government views this project not as the cause of the peace treaty but as a "peace dividend" received by the country. The American side, in turn, used access to advanced Nvidia chips as one of the incentives to accelerate the preliminary agreement between Yerevan and Baku. According to my data, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan needed tangible economic results from the peace process to offset domestic political costs, and the permit to import processors for Firebird was included in the negotiation package precisely for this purpose.
What the technology project brings to the region
The launch of the center near Hrazdan turns Armenia into the owner of one of the largest computing platforms in the South Caucasus. Infrastructure of this class opens up opportunities for developing and training large-scale AI models directly within the country, which is critical for technological sovereignty.
The project's name — Firebird, referencing the image of the firebird — has also proven symbolic. Behind it lies a quite practical task: turning an export permit into a working industrial facility with thousands of accelerators. The contrast with Azerbaijan here is obvious: the strategic partnership charter with the U.S. signed in February 2026 provides for the creation of AI data centers, but specific companies, investment volumes, equipment quantities, and timelines are not specified in the document.
Thus, the Armenian part of the technology package has already materialized into a measurable result: a license has been issued, thousands of processors have been installed, and the first phase worth $500 million has been launched. Further development of the complex will determine how successfully the stated plans can be implemented in practice.
My verdict: Firebird is not just a data center but a strategic asset that moves Armenia into a new weight class on the technological map of Eurasia. However, the key challenge will remain not so much attracting capital as maintaining access to advanced chips amid rapidly changing geopolitical conditions. Investors and observers should closely watch how Yerevan will monetize this infrastructure — the real return on the $4 billion depends on it.