How Armenia is trying to build a Silicon Valley in the Caucasus

In Armenia tech acquisition starts early.

In a emblematic three-storey authorities schoolhouse successful the suburbs of Yerevan, the Armenian capital, nine-year aged Slavik is demonstrating his invention - a container with 3 LED lights.

"He has learned however to power it, and the programming language. You tin spot the codification is written by him," says Maria, the 21-year-old tech manager starring the class.

Next to them, 14-year-old Eric and Narek are showing their astute greenhouse exemplary that monitors somesthesia and controls fans automatically done a mobile app.

Other children are enthusiastically showcasing their inventions: games, robots, apps and astute location projects.

Eleven-year-old Arakel is holding his cardboard exemplary of a location with a retractable clothesline.

"I person made my mother's enactment easy, 1 portion of the instrumentality is acceptable connected the roof, and different is simply a motor," helium says. "When it rains the enactment goes nether the extortion to support the apparel dry."

These young inventors person been attending engineering laboratory classes wherever they larn programming, robotics, coding, 3D modelling and more.

The programme started successful 2014, and is called Armath, which translates into English arsenic "root". Today determination are 650 Armath labs successful schools crossed Armenia.

The inaugural was established by a concern organisation called the Union of Advanced Technology Enterprises (UATE), which represents much than 200 high-tech Armenian companies.

"The imaginativeness is that we privation to spot Armenia becoming a tech centre powerhouse that delivers utmost values to Armenia and to the world," says Sarkis Karapetyan, the main enforcement of UATE.

In his spacious, open-plan bureau successful Yerevan helium says that determination are present astir 4,000 tech companies successful Armenia.

Armath is portion of the UATE's acquisition and workforce improvement programme. Mr Karapetyan says the programme is the astir palmy public-private concern successful the country.

"We rise superior expenditure from the backstage sector, we spell to the schools and found Armath labs, we donate the equipment," helium says. "And the government, the acquisition ministry gives america a fund of $2m (£1.5m) annually to wage the salaries of the coaches."

There are present much than 600 coaches, and 17,000 progressive students.

"The extremity is to person 5,000 of the astir talented kids determine to go engineers each year," says Mr Karapetyan.

Armenia is simply a landlocked state of 2.7 cardinal people, the smallest successful the South Caucasus region, and its borders with neighbouring Azerbaijan and Turkey person been unopen for decades owed to unresolved territorial disputes.

Unlike its neighbours, Armenia does not person earthy resources oregon entree to the sea. But passim the Soviet epoch it had been a centre of mathematics and machine science.

In 1956 the Yerevan Scientific Research Institute of Mathematical Machines was established successful Armenia and by 1960 it had developed 2 archetypal procreation computers.

Today, the state is tapping into its bequest with the ambition to alteration itself into the tech powerhouse of the Caucasus.

And determination has been immoderate occurrence already. Picsart, a AI-powered photograph and video editing website and app, was launched successful Armenia successful 2011. Today the institution of the aforesaid name, which has dual office successful Yerevan and Miami, is valued astatine $1.5bn.

Krisp, which makes audio-processing software, and Service Titan, which provides concern software, are different Armenian occurrence stories.

Meanwhile, an yearly study says that Armenia is the champion state successful the Caucuses portion successful which to motorboat a company, putting it successful 57th spot globally. This compares with Georgia successful 70th position, and Azerbaijan successful 80th.

A captious origin successful boosting Armenia's tech improvement is the nation's planetary diaspora – immoderate 75% of the world's estimated Armenians, and radical of Armenian descent, unrecorded elsewhere.

This worldwide assemblage provides important connections, particularly successful the US tech industry. In the US determination are arsenic galore arsenic 1.6 cardinal radical of Armenian ancestry, centred connected California.

Samvel Khachikyan, is manager of programs astatine SmartGate, a task superior steadfast based successful some California and Armenia that focuses connected tech investments.

He says that if you look astatine the apical 500 companies successful the US, "for definite you'll find astatine slightest 1 oregon 2 Armenians" successful the boardroom oregon 1 absorption level below.

Mr Khachikyan explains however his institution helps Armenian entrepreneurs acceptable up operations successful the US.

"Imagine an Armenian start-up, 2 young radical deciding to spell to the US to effort to run there, they person nary connections, nary cognition astir the civilization however it works.

"It's gonna beryllium hard, precise hard. We are helping them, it's similar the motorboat of the rocket, the archetypal mates of seconds is the hardest."

SmartGate takes Armenian founders to Silicon Valley and Los Angeles for intensive networking with apical US companies and investors.

But galore Armenian start-ups archetypal trial their products successful their location market.

Irina Ghazaryan, is the laminitis of an app called Dr Yan that is changing however Armenians entree healthcare by enabling them to much easy publication appointments with doctors.

Ms Ghazaryan was antecedently moving successful merchandise and web plan when, helped by the information she comes from a household of doctors, she identified a spread successful the market. "Patients couldn't find the close doctors, and doctors were suffering from endless calls."

The app operates connected a subscription model, with doctors paying to beryllium listed connected the platform, and determination are plans to expand.

"We are increasing astatine slightest 25% gross period by month," adds Ms Ghazaryan. "We are astir break-even successful Armenia and that gives america spot to commencement expanding to different markets, similar Uzbekistan."

Armenia's tech ecosystem received an unexpected boost successful 2022 pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine. Thousands of Russian IT specialists near their country, and galore chose to settee successful Armenia.

Meanwhile, US chipmaking elephantine Nvidia moved its Russian bureau to Armenia.

Vasily is simply a Russian IT advisor who relocated to Armenia successful 2023. "Armenia was the astir affable to radical from Russia successful bid to assistance them move, accommodate and truthful on," helium says.

He estimates that that the Russian IT assemblage successful Armenia present totals 5,000 to 8,000 people. This influx has said to person filled important accomplishment gaps successful Armenia's tech sector, successful areas specified arsenic information processing, cybersecurity, and fiscal technologies.

Yet Vasily says that Armenia tin beryllium costly and the state needs to trim the taxation load connected IT firms if it wants them to enactment successful the country.

However, wide optimism remains precocious astir Armenia's tech future. Samvel Khachikyan expects the assemblage to boom. He points to Service Titan, which floated connected the New York Stock Exchange past December, and is present worthy much than $10bn.