A major round from Armenia — what happened in the region's venture market in June

June 2026 proved to be a busy month for Armenia’s technology and investment landscape. The highlight of the month was a major deal by Armenian startup Netris, while the country simultaneously strengthened its position as a regional hub for artificial intelligence and received new support from international development institutions and investors.

Netris Raises $15 Million from Andreessen Horowitz

Netris, a company developing software for network automation in artificial intelligence infrastructure, closed a $15 million Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The round was led by partner Guido Appenzeller, who will join the company’s board of directors.

Netris is building a next-generation network automation platform for graphics processing units (GPUs), replacing traditional software-defined networking solutions. The technology enables AI cloud service operators to deploy computing clusters in weeks rather than months and securely share capacity among different clients.

Firebird Enters Final Construction Stage of AI Factory

Firebird’s mega-project, the largest artificial intelligence data center in the Caucasus region, under construction near the city of Razdan, has entered the final stage of construction and equipment installation. The total investment in the first phase amounted to $500 million.

Upon completion of the second phase, total investments in the project will reach approximately $4 billion, with the number of GPUs exceeding 41,000 units, placing Armenia among the top five global leaders in AI computing power. The launch of the first phase is scheduled for July 2026. Firebird co-founder Alexander Yesayan described the project as an initiative that will lay the foundation for Armenia’s new technology-driven economy.

Armenia and the US Sign Partnership on AI Investment Opportunities

Armenian Ambassador to the US Narek Mkrtchyan and US Deputy Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg signed a joint statement on partnership in AI opportunities. The signing took place during the Pax Silica summit at the Donald Trump Institute for Peace in the US. 

The document outlines support for policies and market participants that drive innovation, investment, entrepreneurship, and the secure deployment of AI ecosystems. It also aims to deepen cooperation along supply chains, including energy infrastructure, critical minerals, skilled workforce development, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains.

Eurasian Development Bank Confirms Record Support for Armenia

At the annual meeting and business forum of the Eurasian Development Bank on June 25, Armenian Minister of Finance Vage Ovanessian stated that since the implementation of the bank’s strategy from 2022 to 2026, projects worth nearly $400 million have already been financed in the country. Key initiatives have been launched in energy, agriculture, and the real sector.

Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Development Bank, noted that according to the bank’s mutual investment monitoring data, Armenia leads the region in attracting foreign investments from Eurasian countries. Between 2020 and 2025, their volume grew by 78%, five times faster than the regional average. 

Ameriabank Enters FTSE 100 Index

The annual Investor Day of Lion Finance Group, the parent company of Ameriabank and Bank of Georgia, took place in Tbilisi. The event brought together around 100 international investors, companies, financial institutions, and analysts, including representatives from Firebird, M&G Investments, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan Chase. Presentations were delivered by the group’s management, as well as by Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia, and Vage Ovanessian, Minister of Finance of Armenia.

A key topic of the meeting was the inclusion of Lion Finance Group in the FTSE 100 index. As a member of the group, Ameriabank became the first Armenian company to join the list of the 100 largest companies on the London Stock Exchange, alongside firms such as HSBC, BP, Unilever, Rolls-Royce Holdings, Shell, and Barclays.

IDBank Presents FinTech Ecosystem at Mantashyants Business Forum

At the Mantashyants Global Business Forum 2026, Grigory Yolyan, Head of Commercial Partnerships at IDBank, presented the topic “When Fintech Becomes a Sales Driver.” He explained that through the implementation of QR payments within the unified digital ecosystem of Idram and IDBank, over one million users and approximately 30,000 business sales points have been connected.

Additionally, the Rocket Line service was presented as a successful example of the “buy now, pay later” model in the Armenian market, as well as the IDDistributor platform, which helps reduce cash circulation, digitalize business processes, and improve financial accessibility, particularly in regional areas.