Insider Brief
- Firebird has launched Firebird Labs, a new venture platform focused on incubating and funding startups in robotics, physical AI, aerospace and life sciences, while partnering with OpenAI and Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport to provide AI tools to 50,000 students, teachers and researchers.
- Firebird Labs plans to invest in and co-develop up to five startups annually, providing selected founders and research teams with access to OpenAI technologies, mentorship, research partnerships and dedicated compute infrastructure.
- The initiative builds on Firebird’s broader effort to position Armenia as an AI hub, with the company planning to expand its GPU infrastructure and offering program participants access to computing resources expected to scale to as many as 1,000 dedicated GPUs by 2027.
Firebird, the AI infrastructure company building large-scale GPU capacity in Armenia, has launched Firebird Labs, a new venture platform focused on incubating and funding startups in robotics, physical AI, aerospace and life sciences. As part of the initiative, Firebird is partnering with Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and OpenAI to provide AI tools to 50,000 students, teachers and researchers across the country.
According to Firebird, universities, researchers and entrepreneurs will gain access to OpenAI technologies including ChatGPT Edu and Codex, as well as technical support, infrastructure and educational resources aimed at accelerating AI adoption across the country’s academic and research communities.
“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,” said Firebird co-founder Alexander Yesayan. “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.”
Open AI’s Role
OpenAI is supporting the initiative through technology access, API credits and team support, while Firebird will provide compute infrastructure and operational resources. Armenia joins a growing group of countries integrating OpenAI’s education-focused offerings into higher education and research environments.
“Intelligence is becoming a national utility and education has an important role to play in making sure people have both access to the tools and the skills to use them well,” noted Jayna Devani, international education lead at OpenAI. “With Firebird’s investment in AI infrastructure and long-term commitment to Armenia’s innovation ecosystem, this collaboration brings together the country’s strong talent base, frontier tools like ChatGPT and Codex, and practical support for students, educators and researchers to help close capability gaps and strengthen the foundations for globally competitive innovation.”
Firebird Labs
Firebird Labs is scheduled to begin operations in the third quarter of 2026. The platform plans to invest in and co-develop up to five technical ventures annually, focusing on long-term company creation rather than traditional accelerator-style programs. According to Firebird, the initial focus areas will be robotics and physical AI, aerospace and life sciences.
Selected founders and research teams will receive access to OpenAI technologies, mentorship, research partnerships and dedicated compute resources. Firebird said participants could gain access to GPU infrastructure that is expected to scale to as many as 1,000 dedicated GPUs for program participants in 2027.
Armenia Emerging as an AI Hub
The company said it operates one of Europe’s largest GPU clusters and plans to expand its Armenia operations significantly, following a previously announced Phase 2 expansion targeting $4 billion in investment and 50,000 GPUs by the end of 2026.
“Armenia has one of the highest concentrations of engineering talent in the region, supported by a government that is actively investing in its future as a global technology hub,” added Firebird co-ounder and CEO Razmig Hovaghimian. “With Firebird Labs, we aim to give a new generation of builders access to frontier AI models and world-class compute infrastructure so they can innovate and compete on equal footing with the world’s leading AI teams.”
Featured photo: From left to right: Narek Mkrtchyan Ambassador of Armenia to the United States of America Alexander Yesayan Co-founder, Firebird Zhanna Andreasyan,Minister of Education, Science, Culture, and Sport of Armenia Mkhitar Hayrapetyan Minister of High-Tech Industry of Armenia Araksia Svajyan Deputy Minister, RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport. (Credit FIrebird)
