US-based artificial intelligence infrastructure company Firebird said on February 9 it had secured U.S. export approvals to deliver tens of thousands of advanced Nvidia chips to Armenia, clearing the way for the second phase of a $4bn AI supercomputing project, a Firebird press release said.

Firebird’s first phase, valued at about $500mn, established Armenia’s first high-performance AI computing centre. The second phase will expand capacity and support research in fields including life sciences, robotics, space technologies and next-generation AI systems.

The company said a US licence authorising the sale of 41,000 Nvidia GB300 graphics processing units will allow it to significantly expand its data centre and computing cluster in Armenia, placing the country among the world’s five largest AI GPU hubs.

The announcement was made during a visit to Yerevan by US Vice President J.D. Vance, who appeared alongside Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and senior executives from Firebird and Nvidia.

Pashinyan said the project reflected growing cooperation between Armenia and the United States in high technology, building on a bilateral memorandum signed last year covering semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

"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 centre in Armenia," he said.

Vance said the approval would create new markets and jobs in both countries and bring cutting-edge technology to Armenia that is not widely available elsewhere.

"This new cluster establishes Armenia as a global supercomputing hub, demonstrating how trusted US infrastructure can power emerging economies," said Razmig Hovaghimian, co-founder and CEO of Firebird. "We're grateful to the US and Armenia governments for their partnership in enabling American technology to operate globally at scale."

The company said the project aims to build a secure and sustainable technology ecosystem in Armenia, supported by international partnerships and long-term investment.