US approves Nvidia chip exports for AI supercomputer project in Armenia

The United States government has greenlit AI startup Firebird’s export  of advanced Nvidia processors to Armenia for a $500 million artificial intelligence supercomputing facility, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

The project, announced by Nvidia in June, marks the launch of the first large-scale AI data centre in the South Caucasus.

The 100-megawatt facility will be developed using Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell chips and AI servers from Dell Technologies Inc.

The first phase of the project is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2026.

‘Now that we’ve figured out the [export] standards, we’re going to be able to keep it at that level for other markets,’ CEO and co-founder of Firebird Razmig Hovaghimian told Bloomberg.

He added that Firebird is already in discussions with the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security to pursue similar export approvals for future projects in other emerging markets.

According to the report by Bloomberg, the data centre in Armenia will allocate 20% of its computing capacity for domestic companies, with the remaining 80% sold to US-based firms operating in the region.

The significance of the permission to export chips to Armenia lies behind the former US President Joe Biden’s administration’s classification of Armenia as a second-tier country under the so-called AI diffusion rule, which limited exports of high-performance chips. That designation was shared by countries such as Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Poland.

The restrictions have since been lifted under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The Armenian government has long announced developing the tech ecosystem in Armenia as a priority, marked by several laws aimed at supporting local startups and generating talent in the country.