Firebird launches region’s largest AI factory in Armenia and plans rapid global expansion

Firebird opened the region’s largest NVIDIA DSX AI factory in Hrazdan, Armenia, and said the site will anchor a wider push across frontier markets. The company also disclosed plans to expand to more than 70,000 GPUs in Armenia by 2027, reach 2 gigawatts of capacity by 2028 and add NVIDIA, CoreWeave and Perplexity as strategic partners and customers.

Why it matters: - Firebird’s launch gives Armenia a new role as a regional hub for AI computing and sovereign infrastructure. - The project is designed to help countries and enterprises build local AI capacity instead of relying only on overseas cloud providers. - Firebird’s roadmap points to a fast-growing footprint across emerging markets, with implications for regional tech investment, research and startup activity.

What happened: - Firebird officially launched what it called the region’s largest NVIDIA DSX AI factory in Hrazdan, Armenia. - The inauguration marked the operational debut of Firebird’s global AI infrastructure platform. - The event included remarks from Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang, NVIDIA Vice President of Physical AI Simulation Rev Lebaredian, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires ad interim David Allen, Kazakhstan Deputy Prime Minister Zhaslan Madiyev and other government, academic, investor and industry leaders. - Pashinyan said the launch came exactly one year after the U.S.-Armenia Memorandum of Understanding on AI and technology cooperation was signed with President Donald Trump. - Firebird said NVIDIA intends to invest in the company, following an earlier investment by CoreWeave this year. - Firebird also named Perplexity as one of its first customers.

The details: - Firebird’s Armenian AI factory is built on the NVIDIA DSX AI Factory reference design. - The site uses NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking. - Firebird says the design can support up to 40% more GPUs within the same footprint and improve the economics of AI infrastructure. - The Armenian platform is set to scale beyond 70,000 NVIDIA Rubin and Blackwell GPUs by the end of 2027. - Firebird plans to expand the site to 300 megawatts of AI infrastructure capacity. - The company says that scale would place the project among Europe’s largest AI infrastructure platforms and one of the world’s most significant AI computing hubs. - Firebird’s second market is Kazakhstan, where the company has secured 125 megawatts of AI infrastructure capacity at Data Center Valley. - Firebird said that Kazakhstan project has the necessary approvals from the government of Kazakhstan and export authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. - Firebird is targeting 2 gigawatts of AI infrastructure capacity by the end of 2028 across several frontier markets under development. - The company described that goal as part of one of the world’s fastest-growing AI infrastructure networks. - Perplexity will use Firebird’s infrastructure to support its answer engine and AI-powered digital coworker platform.

Between the lines: - Firebird is positioning itself as a geopolitical as well as a technical platform, pairing U.S. regulatory approvals with local partnerships in Armenia and Kazakhstan. - The launch speed is part of the pitch: Firebird said the site went from an empty construction site to operational readiness in just over six months. - NVIDIA’s participation and planned investment signal that Firebird wants to be seen as a serious infrastructure partner for frontier-market AI buildouts. - Dell Technologies Chairman and CEO Michael Dell said the factory creates the foundation for sovereign AI adoption and new opportunities for innovation, research and economic growth across the region. - Jensen Huang said the Armenia and Kazakhstan infrastructure will help researchers, startups and industries develop AI at home and participate in the global AI economy.

What’s next: - Firebird will try to hit its 70,000-GPU target in Armenia by the end of 2027. - The company aims to reach about 2 gigawatts of total AI infrastructure capacity by the end of 2028. - Firebird said it will keep expanding into additional frontier markets as part of its global infrastructure rollout. - The company will also need to convert its announced partnerships, investments and customer relationships into deployed capacity and sustained operations.

The bottom line: - Firebird is betting that fast-built, sovereign AI infrastructure in emerging markets can become a major global business, not just a regional project.