Firebird and U.S. Government Greenlight Phase 2 of Armenia AI Megaproject: $4B Investment, 50,000 GPUs by 2026
Firebird announced Phase Two of its AI supercomputing buildout in Armenia, backed by U.S. export licensing for an additional 41,000 NVIDIA GB300 GPUs. With Phase One already underway, the combined project totals roughly 50,000 GPUs and a planned $4 billion capital investment.
The approval was shared in Yerevan during a joint briefing with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, NVIDIA executive Rev Lebaredian, and Firebird co-founders Razmig Hovaghimian and Alexander Yesayan. The move positions Armenia to host one of the five largest AI GPU clusters globally.
Key facts at a glance
- 41,000 additional NVIDIA GB300 GPUs cleared for export to Armenia in Phase Two.
- Total scale: about 50,000 GPUs by 2026 across both phases.
- Project value: $4B, one of Armenia's largest technology investments to date.
- Phase One foundation: $500M invested to launch Armenia's first high-performance AI cluster.
Why this matters for government leaders
This is a blueprint for cross-border AI infrastructure that meets U.S. regulatory standards while expanding allied digital capacity. It ties export controls, industrial policy, and workforce development into a single, high-visibility project with clear deliverables and shared oversight.
Regulatory footing and oversight
Phase Two proceeds under a newly secured U.S. export license, signaling compliance with U.S. regulatory frameworks and confidence from federal reviewers. For agencies and public institutions, this is a model for AI infrastructure partnerships that operate within U.S. export control guardrails while enabling research and industry growth abroad.
Infrastructure and delivery
At this scale, success depends on reliable grid capacity, advanced cooling, fiber routes, site security, and steady supply chains. With Phase One laying the base layer, Phase Two brings the compute needed for work in life sciences, robotics, space-related research, and next-generation AI systems.
Economic and workforce effects
The project opens new markets for U.S. technology and service providers while seeding an AI cluster in Armenia that can attract research partners and private investment. Expect demand for data center talent, MLOps, compliance, and cybersecurity-areas where public sector workforce pipelines can gain ground quickly.
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What agencies and public institutions can do next
- Identify high-impact workloads (R&D, simulation, analytics) that benefit from large-scale GPU access.
- Set early MOUs with partners on data governance, export controls, and incident response.
- Plan workforce programs for AI, data center operations, MLOps, and security clearance pathways.
- Prepare procurement pathways that accommodate capacity reservations and multi-tenant use.
- Coordinate with utilities and connectivity providers on reliability, redundancy, and sustainability metrics.
Voices from the announcement
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan: "I am pleased to note that the Memorandum signed between Armenia and the United States on August 8 in the areas of semiconductors and artificial intelligence will bring to life the megaproject by Firebird to build an artificial intelligence factory and a data center in Armenia. I hope that close and transparent cooperation established between Armenia and the United States in the high-tech sector will allow us to further develop and strengthen the mutually beneficial partnership between Armenian and U.S. companies."
U.S. Vice President JD Vance: "Today marks a new beginning for cooperation between Armenia and the United States. The Prime Minister mentioned this incredible tech deal: the United States proudly approved this wonderful technical agreement for NVIDIA. This means new markets and new jobs, both for the American workforce and companies, as well as for Armenia. These are chips that simply do not exist in most countries in the world, they are now going to be developed, and the data centers using those chips are going to be built in Armenia thanks to the Prime Minister's leadership."
Firebird's leadership emphasized that the project extends U.S. AI technology leadership globally and sets Armenia up as a supercomputing hub, enabled by cooperation between the two governments and industry partners.
About Firebird
Firebird is a U.S.-based AI cloud and infrastructure company focused on secure, scalable, and globally accessible GPU capacity. Its mission is to broaden access to advanced AI computing for research and enterprise across public and private sectors.
Photo from the announcement: View image
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