- OpenAI, The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia, and Firebird are partnering to position Armenia as a global hub for AI-driven education, research, startups, innovation, and venture creation.
- OpenAI is supporting the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport & Firebird Labs’ vision by providing technology access and technical support to ensure the benefits of AI extend to learners across the country.
Firebird today announced the launch of Firebird Labs, an innovation platform that will invest in, incubate, and co-develop high-ambition technical ventures in Armenia. As first part of the launch, Firebird and The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Armenia are bringing AI access to 50,000 students, teachers, and researchers in Armenia, expanding access to frontier AI tools across the country’s engineering and research community. OpenAI is supporting the initiative by providing technology access, team support and API credits.
The initiative marks a significant milestone in Armenia’s emergence as a global center for AI-driven education and innovation. Through this partnership, founders, engineers, and researchers will gain access to world-class AI tools, infrastructure, and expertise, enabling them to build globally competitive companies and contribute to the next wave of technological innovation.
“The future of technology is not something that will happen years from now. It is being shaped today, in classrooms, universities, and research communities around the world. We believe that meaningful investment in education is one of the most important investments a country can make, especially in the era of artificial intelligence. Armenia has extraordinary talent, and giving students, educators, and researchers access to the world’s most advanced AI tools can help unlock a new generation of innovators and builders. What makes this initiative especially important is the partnership behind it. This is about more than technology, it’s about Armenia’s future,” said Alexander Yesayan, Co-Founder of Firebird.
Firebird Labs, an innovation platform launching in Q3 2026, will invest in, incubate and co-develop high-ambition technical ventures across three strategic verticals: robotics and physical AI, aerospace, and life sciences. Firebird Labs targets five ventures per year, working with deeply technical teams over longer time horizons than a traditional startup program.
Selected participants (Frontier Fellows) will receive a comprehensive set of resources from Firebird, including:
- Access to the latest OpenAI technology to build during our upcoming hackathon, including Codex and API credits
- Firebird and OpenAI mentoring and technical support
- Dedicated GPU capacity from Firebird, scaling up to 1,000 GPUs, reserved for Frontier Fellows in 2027
- Structured research partnerships with leading Armenian, U.S. and European universities
- Firebird’s operational infrastructure, physical workspace, and ecosystem support in partnership with AI9 Startup Campus
- Participation in hackathons, global events, and potential investment opportunities
Firebird holds U.S. government export authorization and operates one of the largest GPU clusters in Europe, with the capacity to scale to 250 megawatts by 2027. Firebird’s Phase 2 expansion in Armenia, announced in February 2026, targets $4 billion in investment and 50,000 GPUs by the end of 2026.
