Information technologies, high tech, or “hay tech”: call it whatever you want, but today we are discussing Armenia’s IT sector again. While we have a couple of months to sum up the year 2025, we can already say that this is another phenomenal year for the industry. This year, we have more than 58,000 specialists employed, according to the annual Armenian Tech Market Insights report, making up 36% of the workforce. By the way, 40% of Armenia’s IT professionals are women, one of the highest rates globally.
This year, we have 6,000 officially registered IT companies in Armenia, but only 1,253 are actively operating. Of these, 80% are local firms, while 20% are branches of international companies.
Finally, product-based companies are on the rise. Armenia has finally shifted from service outsourcing to developing proprietary solutions, a sign of maturing ambitions and growing competitiveness on the global stage.
Quick Recap of 2025: Key Events and News
This year is pretty rich in events, and it was tough filtering the most exciting and significant news. Not focusing on any specific field, let’s talk about the most prominent moments we had since the beginning of 2025.
- Global Innovation Index 2025: First and foremost, Armenia climbed to 59th place on the Global Innovation Index, up 4 spots from 2024 and 13 spots from 2023, proving the steady progress in innovation capacity and outputs.
- VSData Green Data Center: This year, the first eco-friendly Tier III data center’s construction began in Aragatsotn, designed to cut carbon emissions by 30–50%. The launch is set for late 2025.
- World Robot Olympiad: Armenia won the global robotics competition in Slovenia, represented by young engineers from the Armat Lab and Yerevan’s public school No. 131.
- Generation AI Program Expansion: Armenia’s Ministry of Education and FAST announced plans to engage 85% of high school students in learning AI.
- ReInvent by Renderforest: Reinvent by Renderforest took place in September 2025. This is Armenia’s pioneering digital conference, focusing on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The annual event brings together over 2,000 specialists and industry leaders in Entrepreneurship, IT, Digital Marketing, and Design to explore emerging professions, major trends, and transformative innovations shaping the future.
- Silicon Mountains 2025: The Silicon Mountains 2025 Tech Summit, held on October 14 at Yerevan’s Dvin Hall, brought together over 1,000 participants and a dozen international experts under the theme “The Anatomy of Artificial Intelligence.” Supported by the Ministry of High-Tech Industry and platinum partner Ucom, the summit explored the deep architecture of algorithms and the essential role of the human factor in automated systems.
- DevFest Armenia 2025: On December 20, 2025, the DevFest Armenia 2025 conference took place at the WOODS Center near Jrvezh National Park, bringing together over 200 developers, designers, and tech leaders. Organized by GDG Yerevan, the 13th edition of this flagship event centered on the theme of building safe, secure, and scalable AI and Cloud solutions.
Creative Technologies College in Parakar: Sponsored by GITC and private donors, the new college combines AI, cybersecurity, digital arts, and engineering. An Apple Academy and partnerships with Columbia University will also be available on campus.
TUMO Global Expansion: This year, TUMO has gone wild, expanding far beyond its borders. It has opened the first South American center in Buenos Aires, now the largest worldwide (6,000 teens weekly), and new centers in Mumbai (India) and Gunma (Japan), each serving 1,500 students weekly. Finally, TUMO has announced projects in Uruguay (opening 2026) and further expansion across Buenos Aires.
$500M AI Center in Armenia: Firebird, the Armenian government, and NVIDIA have launched the region’s largest AI project, a data center with thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and over 100 MW capacity. The expected launch is 2026.
Robotics in Early Education: Yerevan announced that robotics will become a core subject in kindergartens, supported by staff upskilling and reskilling in partnership with the National Polytechnic University of Armenia.
A $4 Billion Supercomputing Landmark
Firebird and the U.S. Government officially launched Phase 2 of a massive AI infrastructure project in February 2026, scaling Armenia’s computing power to 50,000 NVIDIA GB300 GPUs. With secured U.S. export licenses and regulatory approval, this $4 billion investment transforms Armenia into a global supercomputing hub, hosting one of the top five largest AI GPU clusters in the world. The announcement was made in Yerevan by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, signaling a deepened strategic and technological partnership between the two nations.
Building on an initial $500 million foundation, this expansion aims to catalyze breakthroughs in life sciences, robotics, and space research. Firebird CEO Razmig Hovaghimian highlighted the project as a prime example of “democratizing access” to advanced AI while reinforcing U.S. technology leadership. By integrating cutting-edge chips that are unavailable in most countries, the initiative establishes a secure, high-performance ecosystem designed to drive long-term economic growth and position Armenia as a key player in the global AI landscape.
Success Stories from Armenian Startups in 2025
The backbone of Armenia’s IT sector is, for sure, successful projects and startups getting global recognition. This year, we had another achievement, improving our position in the StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, rising three spots to 54th worldwide with 22.8% annual growth.
By the way, Yerevan made an even bigger step, moving up 19 places to 181st, the fastest growth in the region.
Zangi takes the top spot in Armenia
In September, local messenger app Zangi climbed to first place in downloads with over 5,000 daily installs and 6 million monthly active users. In Russia, it now holds the 25th spot in the App Store. What makes Zangi stand out is its fully decentralized architecture that never stores data in the cloud. Every message is encrypted end-to-end by default, a technically complex but powerful approach.
Synthflow AI raises $20M Series A
Armenian-founded Synthflow AI, based in Berlin, announced $20 million in Series A funding. As the founders noted, this achievement will help them scale and expand their presence in the global market.
SuperAnnotate secures $13M Series B
SuperAnnotate, founded by Armenian brothers Tigran and Vahan Petrosyan, raised $13 million in Series B funding led by Dell Technologies Capital. This round adds to support from NVIDIA, Databricks Ventures, and Glynn Capital, bringing their total Series B financing to $50 million.
DeepSat wins US Air Force contract
US–Armenian startup DeepSat received a contract under the US Air Force’s Direct to Phase II SBIR program. The project will build a satellite constellation, the “Orion Belt,” in very low Earth orbit to provide real-time Earth observation, using onboard AI to analyze data instantly. A demo mission is scheduled for 2027.
Gecko Robotics becomes a unicorn
Gecko Robotics, with Armenian ties, joined the unicorn club after raising $125 million, reaching a valuation of $1.25 billion. Their success story highlights how Armenian-founded or Armenian-led startups are breaking into global markets and attracting major investment.
Global Tech Giants Entering Armenia
Besides our startups, Armenia has become a hub for global tech players who have just entered or have decided to continue expanding in Armenia.
NVIDIA is building an ecosystem in Armenia
The plan to build a $500 million AI factory is now more than real. The location has not been announced yet, but it will definitely give a huge competitive advantage to Armenia.
Rev Lebaredian, the company’s VP of Omniverse and Simulation, noted that Armenia could become a genuine hub where the next generation creates world-class technology without having to leave.
The recent expansion brings the total investment to $4 billion and will establish one of the world’s five largest AI GPU installations in the country, representing Armenia’s largest technology infrastructure investment to date.
Plug and Play has come to stay
The American accelerator Plug and Play, ranked first in Europe by volume of startup investments in 2024, has signed an agreement with the government to stay here until at least 2028. With Plug and Play’s global network of partners and investors now plugged into Yerevan, Armenian founders have access to a much bigger stage.
Cisco is building human capital for the future
Cisco is investing in Armenia’s future workforce by bringing its “Networking Academy” program to the country. In partnership with the Ministry of High-Tech Industry, TUMO Center, and the Technology Education Foundation, Cisco will train specialists in cybersecurity, network automation, and next-gen IT skills.
AMD is scaling R&D and partnering with universities
AMD has been in Armenia since 2019, and this year the company is initiating a pilot research lab in collaboration with Yerevan State University and the Polytechnic Institute. Vice President Dan Gibbons highlighted the strength of Armenian engineers, particularly in C++, FPGA, and EDA technologies that are rare and highly valued in Silicon Valley.
Philip Morris goes into tech
Philip Morris International, known for its global consumer brand, has started building a multifunctional R&D center in Yerevan’s Engineering City. In partnership with the Enterprise Incubator Foundation, it will be the first international resident of this high-tech campus, equipped with labs and advanced production facilities.
Government Policies and Incentives
When I stated that this year was phenomenal, these weren’t just my emotions but my conclusion from data. In the first half of 2025, the IT sector turnover grew by 30.4% compared to the same period in 2024. This growth showed that the country’s high-tech ecosystem is becoming one of the core drivers of the national economy.
A new strategy to support the industry
In 2024, Armenia started developing a national high-tech strategy with support from USAID. The plan involved Ameria Bank, Fraunhofer ISI, EIF, and Modex and was designed as a six-phase roadmap. But when USAID stopped its “Economic Foundations for a Resilient Armenia” program in February 2025, the strategy work was also paused. Fortunately, instead of abandoning it, the government decided to continue the remaining phases, allocating 65.6M AMD in May 2025.
The ICT footprint in the economy of Armenia
The ICT sector already accounts for 7% of Armenia’s GDP as of 2024. The official 2025 numbers are not yet published, but we can already suggest that the share is at least stable, if not higher.
New taxes and hiring incentives
The government has rolled out a new package of benefits to attract talent and reduce costs for companies:
For new hires entering the tech sector for the first time, employers will get back 60% of the income tax paid for three years.
Relocants working in professional tech roles also qualify for a 60% refund on their income tax.
R&D activities receive special incentives: companies that comply with government decision 195-N can reduce taxable salaries by 200%, and income tax rates for R&D roles can drop to 10% instead of 20%. Of course, there are a bunch of hidden nuances, so when applying, it is advised to consult a lawyer. Plus, most companies keep their projects secret before official launch and refuse to apply for incentives.
Highly qualified specialists (HQS) bring even more incentives: companies can be reimbursed 10% of their salaries, 30% if employees hold a PhD, and up to 50% if they combine research with teaching.
Armenian tax reforms for 2025
This year was quite exciting with new tax reforms. Starting this year, turnover tax dropped from 5% to 1% for eligible companies. Income tax for employees performing professional tech work is now 10%, but limited to technical staff only (not administrative roles). Plus, grants of up to 50 employees are recognized without profit tax burdens, easing the runway for startups.
Seven years of predictability
In late 2024, the Ministry of High-Tech Industry proposed a 7-year support package lasting until 2032 that includes:
100% income tax refunds for startups with up to 30 employees when hiring new tech talent.
50% tax refunds for companies hiring skilled labor migrants, helping attract international expertise to Armenia.
50% income tax refund for startup training programs, 25% for larger companies.
R&D tax incentives that cut income tax for R&D staff from 20% to 10%.
Reduced turnover tax from 5% to 2% for tech companies.
Hidden pitfalls and limits
Unfortunately, I have not once heard that new tax refunds are not as easy and shiny as they seem. For example, companies can only get refunds of up to 50% of their total income tax. And from 2026, refunds for migrant workers will go directly to employees rather than employers. The industry players, large and small, state that those changes will not have a significant role in making Armenia’s IT sector more competitive and exciting in the region. This statement can be proven by a decreased number of specialists who once chose Armenia for relocation. A great part of them replaced Armenia with neighboring countries for having more flexible laws and incentives. Many businesses have relocated from Armenia to neighboring countries with more flexible laws and incentives.
Global Tech Forecast for 2026 and The Role of Hay-Tech
Armenia is really tiny, and yet it managed to make some noise in global tech. If I stop fantasizing about a “sci-fi” future with robots controlling humans, the next year will be quite exciting. Let’s see how Armenia will fit into the global tech trends and what we can bring into the industry.
Talent gap and global recruitment
Talent shortage is not new in the industry, and no matter how attractive the tech sector may seem, Generation Z isn’t happy about becoming part of the community. They don’t like stress and overload, which is, let’s say, the topping of tech. As a result, we have a severe talent shortage.
To address the local and global talent gap, Armenia heavily invests in its STEM education base and R&D hubs to become an attractive location for global teams.
Sustainability, climate tech, and green infrastructure
While not always front-and-center in those trend lists, the move toward sustainability cannot be just ignored. In a tech environment, sustainability means energy efficiency and greener operations.
Armenia has a natural advantage. Its renewable energy potential, favorable geography, and smaller scale will adapt sustainability practices easier and faster. And soon we will talk about them.
AI governance and responsible AI
One of the major trends in 2026 will be building frameworks that manage how AI is used, ensuring fairness, accountability, and transparency. Many countries have already limited AI usage on their territory at a legislative level. Armenia and Armenian-origin technologists, many working in AI research and standards, can help define policies and best practices.