AI regulation in Armenia: laws & policy (2026)

During an official visit to Yerevan by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Firebird and the U.S. government announced Phase 2 of Armenia's AI supercomputing megaproject, securing export licensing for 41,000 additional NVIDIA GB300 GPUs and expanding total investment to $4 billion, positioning Armenia among the world's five largest AI GPU clusters.

Armenia became a signatory to the first internationally binding AI treaty, the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence, Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, committing to align the lifecycle of AI systems with human rights, democratic principles, and the rule of law.

The U.S. Department of Commerce approved export licensing for NVIDIA chips destined for Firebird's Armenian AI data center, clearing the key regulatory hurdle for Phase 1 of the $500 million project and marking the first concrete outcome of the August 2025 Armenia-U.S. technology MOU.

Prime Minister Pashinyan and President Trump signed a Memorandum of Understanding on AI and Semiconductor Innovation, making Armenia a formal U.S. strategic partner for secure semiconductor supply chains, joint AI research, and private-sector investment, the diplomatic foundation for subsequent U.S. GPU export approvals.

The Ministry of High-Tech Industry officially launched the National Virtual Institute for AI in partnership with AWS and Mistral AI, establishing a structured platform for AI education, workforce training, and research, Armenia's first institutional vehicle dedicated to building domestic AI human capital.

At VivaTech Paris, Firebird announced a $500 million public-private AI infrastructure project with the Armenian government, NVIDIA, and Team Group (parent of Telecom Armenia), envisaging deployment of thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and over 100 MW of compute capacity to establish Armenia as the Caucasus region's AI hub.

The National Assembly adopted amendments to the Law on Police, exclusively backed by the ruling Civil Contract party, granting the Ministry of Internal Affairs 24/7 access to a nationwide AI-enhanced facial recognition camera network; the law took effect 9 August 2025 and was condemned by HRW and civil society for deploying AI surveillance without any legal AI governance framework.

First Deputy Minister Gevorg Mantashyan and Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch signed a partnership agreement in Paris, committing Mistral AI to strengthen Armenia's AI infrastructure, support AI-driven GovTech, and provide AI training using both commercial and open-source models, Armenia's first bilateral AI-specific cooperation agreement with a private AI company.

Armenia's new law establishing a state registry and granting tax privileges and employment incentives to high-tech businesses, including AI companies, entered into force, creating the first dedicated legal mechanism providing regulatory and fiscal benefits to the AI sector.

The National Supercomputer Center of Armenia (named after Charles Aznavour) opened in Engineering City, Yerevan, with 1 petaflops capacity and ~24,500 cores; backed by the World Bank and European Commission, it is the first dedicated national computing resource for AI, machine learning, and scientific research in the country.

The government adopted its Digital Transformation Strategy 2021-2025, establishing the policy framework for digitizing government, the economy, and society, covering infrastructure, cybersecurity, data policy, and e-government, that became the overarching umbrella under which all subsequent AI initiatives were developed.

The Armenian government reorganized its ministry responsible for ICT into the dedicated Ministry of High-Tech Industry, granting it sole authority over AI, technology, and digital policy, creating the institutional foundation upon which all national AI strategy, regulation, and international partnerships have since been built.