Armenia has officially commissioned the first phase of a major computing center for artificial intelligence tasks — the Firebird project, built on Nvidia processors. This is a landmark event not only for the region but also for the entire high-tech industry, as it highlights how closely geopolitics, economics, and the development of AI infrastructure are intertwined.
Firebird: 6,000 processors and 18-megawatt infrastructure
The first phase of the center was launched in August 2026 near the city of Hrazdan. The total investment at this stage amounted to $500 million. The project has installed more than 6,000 Nvidia Blackwell processors, with the total capacity of the computing infrastructure reaching 18 megawatts. This makes Firebird one of the most powerful AI platforms in the South Caucasus.
However, this is only the beginning. Initially, the project received a license to use approximately 6,000 chips. After the signing of the peace agreement with Azerbaijan, Washington authorized the export of an additional 41,000 Nvidia GB300 processors — some of the company's most powerful accelerators for AI tasks. The plans are to bring the total number of processors to more than 100,000 units by the end of 2027, with total investment potentially exceeding $4 billion.
Accordingly, the energy base of the complex will also grow. The infrastructure capacity is planned to be increased from the current 18 to more than 400 megawatts. Such a reserve is necessary to power and cool tens of thousands of accelerators operating under constant load.
Why the export license became the decisive factor
The United States did not provide chips to Armenia for free. The purchase of equipment and construction of infrastructure are financed by investors, and the key advantage from Washington's side was precisely the export authorization. The United States controls access to the most powerful processors for AI, and obtaining such a license is not only an economic benefit but also a marker of political trust in the recipient country.
The Armenian government calls the project not the cause of the peace treaty but a "dividend of peace." In my assessment, this is a very accurate formulation: Washington used access to advanced Nvidia chips as one of the incentives to accelerate the negotiation process between Yerevan and Baku. For Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, it was critically important to show the population tangible economic results of the peace process, and it was precisely this technology package that became one of the main arguments.
What the technology project gives the region
The launch of the center makes Armenia the owner of one of the largest computing platforms not only in the region but also in a broader context. Infrastructure of this class opens up opportunities for developing and training large-scale AI models directly within the country. The project's name — Firebird, referencing the image of the firebird — is also symbolic. Behind it lies a quite practical task: turning the export permit into a functioning industrial facility with thousands of accelerators.
The contrast with Azerbaijan here is telling. The charter on strategic partnership with the United States, signed in February 2026, provides for the creation of data processing centers for AI in the country, but specific companies, investment volumes, and timelines are not specified in the document. The Armenian part of the technology package has already materialized into a measurable result: the license was issued, processors were installed, and the first phase worth $500 million was launched.
How successfully the stated plans to expand the complex to 100,000 processors and 400 megawatts will be implemented remains to be seen in practice. But it is already obvious: Firebird is not just a data center but a strategic asset that could radically change the technological landscape of the entire Transcaucasia.
As an analyst, I see in this project yet another confirmed trend: access to advanced AI chips is becoming a new tool of international politics. And countries that know how to build such alliances gain not only economic dividends but also a significant competitive advantage for decades ahead.