Armenia is transforming into a global technology centre – The Time
YEREVAN, October 22. /ARKA/. Armenia has hosted the World Congress of Innovations and Technology (WCIT) for the second time in the past five years, underscoring how this landlocked democracy of 3 million is recasting itself as a global technology hub, a story in Time says.
Some 3,000 delegates from 80 countries gathered in Armenian capital Yerevan under the banner, “The Power of Mind: AI Beyond Limits, Within Ethics.” Panels included discussions on aerospace design, social media optimization, and cybersecurity. A diverse roster of speakers featured former MGM CEO Alex Yemenidjian and Rodrigo Messi, brother and business manager of soccer superstar and, Lionel. Elon Musk sent a congratulatory message. (Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was due to attend before the French Police intervened.
Perched at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Armenia has revamped its education curriculum to provide a steady stream of STEM talent and offered tax breaks to multinationals setting up local operations. An illustrious roster has taken the bait, including Amazon, Google, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft, Broadcom, and Nvidia.
“Back in the Soviet Union era, Armenia was really very famous as a hi-tech country,” Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan tells TIME in his neo-Palladian official residence. “We were considered a Silicon Valley. Now we want to get that reputation back.”
“Armenia is in a tough neighborhood,” says Rev Lebaredian, a vice president at NVIDIA who opened its Yerevan office in 2022. “In my own little way, I’m hoping to bring some capabilities and resources so we can build the Armenian economy. If Armenia can be economically viable, that will help with solving many of the other problems.”
Yervant Zorian, an Armenian American who serves as chief architect at $80 billion California-based semiconductor supply firm Synopsys, knows this only too well. He says that he is proud that clients in Japan and South Korea are now plugged into the Yerevan time zone owing to the 1,300 employees that Synopsys has stationed here. “The reason that Taiwan is secure isTSMC,” Zorian tells TIME, referencing the oft-touted “silicon shield” around the self-ruling island owing to its semiconductor colossus. “So having a strong economy, producing certain things that the world depends on, that’s part of security.”
ABOUT WCIT 2024
WCIT 2024 was held from 4 to 7 October 2024 in Yerevan During four days WCIT 2024 turned Armenia into a centre of technological thought, becoming a platform for the world's leading industry speakers, panel discussions and B2B meetings.
ARKA News Agency was the media sponsor of WCIT 2024. -0-