Author: Emma Nadirian

AGBU Press Office
55 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022-1112
Website: www.agbu.org
  
PRESS RELEASE
  
Thursday, 
  
AGBU ORGANIZES OFFICIAL VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER PASHINYAN AND IT DELEGATION TO 
SILICON VALLEY

Leveraging its unique position in the epicenter of the high tech industry, with 
its concentrated community of IT professionals and transformational 
entrepreneurs, AGBU Silicon Valley paved the way for the first visit of 
Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his 20-member delegation to 
Silicon Valley on September 23rd. 

Armenia's leadership was on a special mission to achieve multiple objectives 
during their one-day, six-event visit to the world's mecca for science and 
innovation: To share Armenia's impressive IT success story with the industry's 
power elite; to gain insights on the trajectory of high tech innovation heading 
into the next decade; to engage with diasporan IT professionals in the area; 
and to conclude the signing of two MOU's designed to support Armenia's 
homegrown IT talent through education, training, and opportunities for direct 
engagement with the Silicon Valley community. 

Today, there are over a dozen successful tech companies, many incubated and 
nurtured in Armenia, with a presence in Silicon Valley-an expansionary 
phenomenon fueled, in part, by the early efforts of AGBU to help advance 
Armenia's IT capacity. Compared with a handful of tech companies that existed 
in Armenia in the early nineties, when AGBU first decided to plant a stake in 
the industries of tomorrow, there are now over 800 startup enterprises 
operating in country. These are in addition to some of the more mature 
enterprises, some of which were acquired by world-renowned multi-nationals. 

A day of discussion, discovery, and mutual intentions. 

For the better part of the day, Pashinyan and his team engaged in a series of 
back-to-back high-level meetings from closed-door one-on-ones to an interactive 
dialogues, along with product demos, educational tours, and business 
presentations in between. The entire itinerary was organized by AGBU Silicon 
Valley chapter under the leadership of its chair Dr. Yervant Zorian. A key 
figure in the Silicon Valley community in his own right, Dr. Zorian is not only 
the Chief Architect of Synopsys, Inc., but also serves as President of Synopsys 
Armenia, the parent company's second largest location in its 35-country R&D 
network, and the largest IT company in Armenia. He also happens to be the 
founder of the Armenian Virtual College (AVC), an AGBU signature institution, 
which is revolutionizing Armenian education around the world while poised to 
adapt its unique platform to advance education in Armenia's high schools and 
universities. Dr. Zorian currently serves on AGBU's central board. 

Agreement Signed with Venture Capitalist Tim Draper 

The official tour began with a meeting at the invitation of titan venture 
capital investor Tim Draper, founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Draper 
University, Draper Venture Network and Draper Associates. Mr. Pashinyan, 
Minister of the High-Tech Industry Hakob Arshakyan, and select members of the 
delegation engaged in discussions leading to the signed MOU for a Draper 
University branch in Armenia. When established, it will provide the next 
generation of enterprising tech professionals in. Armenia with access to one of 
Silicon Valley's top entrepreneur training programs.  

Excursion to Computer History Museum and Apple Park

During the private talks, the rest of the delegation, including the spouse of 
Prime Minister Anna Hakobyan and Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan, took a 
side-tour to the nearby Computer History Museum and Apple Park. The visit was 
hosted by the leadership of the museum along with members of AGBU Silicon 
Valley and AGBU young professionals of Northern California. 

Demo and Meeting with Nvidia Leadership

Pashinyan's next stop was the headquarters of Nvidia Corporation, inventor of 
GPUs, which creates graphics processing units for gaming and professional 
markets, as well as a system on a chip units (SoCs) for the mobile computing 
and automotive sectors.  The Armenian delegation, eager to learn more about 
Nvidia's artificial intelligence capabilities, was fascinated by a demo of 
real-time virtual simulation based on machine learning which took place prior 
to a side meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Mr. Pashinyan took that 
opportunity to extend a personal invitation to visit Armenia as a means to 
promote the country as a favorable and attractive location for R&D in 
artificial intelligence. 

Continuing the conversation at the Synopsys campus 

At the halfway point of their visit, the delegation headed to the Synopsys Inc. 
headquarters complex for three final engagements. First up was a meeting with 
Synopsys executives headed by Co-CEO Chi-Foon Chan to review the many 
innovations that this semi-conductor giant has brought to the industry and 
partake in boardroom discussions on the latest developments by Synopsys at 
large, and by Synopsys Armenia in particular, including its future expansion 
plans. The conversation then moved to another building on campus in which Mr. 
Pashinyan met with a group of a dozen high-tech executives, investors and 
academic leaders interested in pursuing a first-time involvement in the IT 
sector of Armenia. 

"The Armenian government has declared the technology sector a priority and, 
therefore, we prioritize our partnership with huge technological companies, 
such as Synopsys, "stated Prime Minister Pashinyan. "We are interested in 
attracting investments in the field of high technologies, creating jobs, and 
training specialists. We stand ready to promote this process with our 
government's toolkit intended to create a favorable ecosystem for technological 
startups and investments. Our government is ready to develop cooperation and 
exchange views on future joint action with Silicon Valley."

The tour culminated with the Armenia Tech Forum presided over by Dr. Zorian, PM 
Pashinyan, and the Minister of IT Arshakyan. The 140 representatives, mostly 
young professional Armenians from the tech community, were encouraged to engage 
in an open dialogue with the Prime Minister. Topics ranged from tech industry 
issues, the future of education and its deep impact on R&D, to post-revolution 
politics and Armenia's economic and business climate for startups. 

Announcement of the Virtual Bridge Concept

During the forum, Minister Arshakyan announced the finalization of an MOU 
between the ministry and AGBU Silicon Valley, whereby the chapter would be 
available to facilitate the creation of a dedicated facility for visiting tech 
professionals from Armenia setting up temporary residence to explore 
opportunities for venture capital, partnerships, and other collaborations with 
the local digerati. When implemented, the Virtual Bridge Project would 
facilitate stateside experiences by offering lodging, providing office space, 
and covering other logistical needs. 

"The Virtual Bridge is the first and largest project that will be done directly 
with the Diaspora," remarked Minister of the High Technology Sector Hakob 
Arshakyan. "It will allow the Armenian startup companies and entrepreneurs to 
visit Silicon Valley, participate in acceleration programs, and meet with 
venture capitalists."

The Virtual Bridge serves as a compelling reminder of just how far Armenia's IT 
sector has evolved since its early days of independence, when AGBU was the 
first to break ground in the development of the tech industry with the 
inception of advanced computer science retraining at the American University of 
Armenia (AUA) in the early nineties. 

These seminal initiatives helped set the foundation for the next phase of 
development with the introduction of Silicon Valley startups establishing R&D 
in Armenia, often facilitated by well-connected Diasporan leaders in the tech 
industry. That period was followed by an era of acquisition, whereby a number 
of such startups were acquired by multi-national corporations. These 
developments combined have led up to the coinage of the term "Start Up Armenia" 
as an apt descriptor of the nation in a 21st century context. 

While the arc from startup infancy to high tech mastery can be traced to AGBU's 
longstanding commitment to the IT sector, it also makes the case for why 
Armenia's government has decided to put most of its chips on technology as the 
primary driver of the economy, ahead of agriculture and tourism. Since the 
Velvet Revolution, Armenia's leadership has repeatedly stated that the Armenian 
Diaspora plays a vital role in ensuring Armenia's competitiveness in shaping 
the technologies of the future and expanding its footprint in the high-tech 
arena.  AGBU Silicon Valley will no doubt be instrumental in bringing that 
vision to pass.

Reflecting on AGBU's commitment to Armenia's IT sector, Dr. Zorian stated: "For 
decades, AGBU Silicon Valley, with its deep ties to this center of innovation, 
has been ideally situated to support the IT sector in Armenia. This time, 
organizing the Prime Minister's visit here represents another step toward 
strengthening the synergistic bond between Silicon Valley and the IT sector in 
Armenia, especially after the government announced it was a sector of priority."
  
The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) is the world's largest non-profit 
organization devoted to upholding the Armenian heritage through educational, 
cultural and humanitarian programs. Each year, AGBU is committed to making a 
difference in the lives   of 500,000 people across Armenia, Artsakh and the 
Armenian diaspora.  Since 1906, AGBU has remained true to one overarching goal: 
to create a foundation for the prosperity of all Armenians. To learn more visit 
www.agbu.org.