Firebird Opens Massive AI Data Center in Hrazdan, Armenia: Investments Expected to Exceed $4 Billion

The Armenian-American joint venture Firebird opened a new artificial intelligence data center in Hrazdan (a town in central Armenia) this month. According to co-founder Alexander Yesayan, it is the largest project of its kind in the former Soviet space. Equipped with technologies from American tech giants Nvidia and Dell, the center is designed to serve the international market.

Investments and Export Strategy

Around $500 million has already been invested in the first phase of the project. According to Yesayan, the capital was raised from US-based and Armenian-American investors, while debt financing was provided by Armenian banks and pension funds. As he noted in an interview with the local news outlet CivilNet:

"If we are talking about capital, it is entirely a foreign investment."

The Government of Armenia has also supported the initiative by providing customs duty exemptions, expediting the permitting process, and signing a $25 million contract to purchase computing resources from the company over a five-year period. Acquiring Nvidia processors required US export licenses, a process heavily supported by the tech giant and its CEO, Jensen Huang.

The first phase is equipped with 6,144 Nvidia B200 processors and requires about 18 megawatts of electricity. Between 95 and 97 percent of the center's clients are located outside of Armenia, primarily in Europe and the United States.

"We are exporting services," Yesayan noted.

Future Plans and Expansion

Construction work for the second phase has already begun in Hrazdan, with completion slated for next year. The company plans to increase its capacity to 400 megawatts, and the total investment volume may surpass the previously announced $4 billion mark.

"I think we will invest more than $4 billion," the co-founder said.

Through its Firebird Labs initiative, the company will also allocate a portion of its computing power to local Armenian startups and universities. Furthermore, the company is expanding beyond Armenia's borders, with Yesayan stating:

"We are building the same thing in Kazakhstan."

Environmental Concerns

In December 2025, the local news outlet Epress.am raised concerns over the lack of an environmental impact assessment for the project. According to Armenia's Ministry of Environment, the company had not submitted documentation because, under legislation passed in 2014, AI data centers are not included in the list of facilities requiring mandatory assessment. The national Water Committee was also unaware of the projected water usage volumes.

Alexander Yesayan dismissed concerns regarding water consumption, explaining that the cooling system runs solely on electricity.

"We do not use water at all," he emphasized.

According to him, Hrazdan's naturally cool climate played a significant role in selecting the location. Nevertheless, future expansions requiring hundreds of megawatts will significantly increase the overall electricity demand in the republic.