Deal between Armenia and world’s most valuable company to strengthen US interests in strategic Caucasus, writes Bloomberg

Armenia’s deal with Nvidia will bolster US interests in the strategically vital Caucasus, Bloomberg writes.

As noted, Armenia’s economy is about 160 times smaller than the $4.5 trillion market cap of AI chipmaker Nvidia.

The tiny Caucasus republic and the world’s most valuable company are now linked after the US government approved the export of Nvidia chips for a planned supercomputer project by AI startup Firebird.

It’s another example of the chip diplomacy of President Donald Trump’s administration, leveraging US influence through access to technology.

The Armenia deal will bolster US interest in the Caucasus, a strategically vital part of the world. Trump put his stamp there in August by signing a joint peace declaration with the leaders of Armenia and neighboring Azerbaijan that ended decades of war over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The accord gave the US exclusive development rights for a planned transit corridor across Armenia linking Azerbaijan and Nakhijevan.

That would boost the Caucasus as a trade bridge between Europe and Asia bypassing Russia. And it would expand access to the vast mineral and energy wealth of central Asian states.

AI is rewiring the world economy. Controlling access to chips gives Trump the chance to tilt the geopolitical balance in America’s favor.