Hayk Yesayan: The key is transitioning from selling resources to selling products

On June 12, 2025, it was announced that Firebird – a cloud provider of artificial intelligence services – the Armenian government, NVIDIA, and Team Group will jointly build an advanced AI infrastructure in Armenia. It was noted that the project includes a $500 million investment, the deployment of thousands of NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs, and the creation of infrastructure with a capacity exceeding 100 megawatts.

iTel.am spoke with Hayk Yesayan, co-founder of the Team group of companies.

– The composition of the initiative’s participants is quite remarkable: one of the world’s most valuable corporations, entrepreneurs from the Armenian Diaspora, the Armenian government, and a major local company. It must not have been easy to bring together such a team.

- In the beginning, very few believed it could be done, and perhaps that helped us succeed (laughs - ed.). Seriously, I believe the key to success was that all participants approached the project at the right time with the right mindset.

Thanks to the involvement of Rev Libaridian, Razmik Hovakimyan, and Noubar Afeyan, our idea gained scale. This is one of those cases when the collective potential of “technological Armenians” was used to its fullest. And NVIDIA’s participation gave the project an international “seal”, which is extremely important.

As for Team, we had considered building a data center earlier, but realized that it would be impractical to pursue such a project solely for the local market.

We have long understood that the “operator of tomorrow” will no longer be able to stand out solely through communication services. That’s why we must differentiate ourselves through other solutions and we’re moving in that direction, as communication is a necessary but not sufficient condition in today’s world, like electricity or water.

– When is the center expected to be completed?

– The scope of work is quite extensive, but we have set a goal to complete it within 6 to 8 months, instead of the initially planned one year. Naturally, much will depend on delivery timelines. If this center were being built in the U.S. or Europe, the process would be quicker. In Armenia, we face certain logistical challenges. On the other hand, we are confident that the work falling under the responsibility of our group of companies will be completed ahead of schedule. We have also received support from many Armenian entrepreneurs, who have helped expedite various processes – often through personal connections – for which we are deeply grateful.

- If I understand correctly, when you speak about the regional significance of the center, you mean not only the South Caucasus.

- Currently, there is no such data center in our region that has the capacity to process such a volume of data in a given time. The center has great potential for development. It is not even about the region, but about rapidly expanding beyond its geographical boundaries.

- Who will use the center’s services?

- Everyone – from large corporations to universities and small research companies. Naturally, the needs and problems will vary, but the center will be built with the flexibility to accommodate them all.

Hayk Yesayan
photo © Mediamax

For example, if you are a computer graphics studio, you might currently spend an entire night rendering a video on your own system. With the computing power of our data center, that same task could be completed in just 15 seconds.

- $500 million is a very impressive figure. Can you share the sources and distribution of the investment?

- At this stage, this information is not subject to disclosure due to legal and contractual obligations. However, I’d like to emphasize something that might sound surprising: securing financing for a project of this scale is not the most difficult part. Today, there are enough financial resources in the world for such projects.

The real challenge is building and operating such a center in Armenia, but, as I said, we are confident that we will bring it to life with honor and ahead of schedule. One of the main sources of motivation is that this project allows us to make Armenia visible on the map very quickly. This can become a “key” that opens doors and reveals our true potential. I believe the key task for our country today is transitioning from selling resources to selling products.

Ara Tadevosyan spoke with Hayk Yesayan