After the 2016 Artsakh war, three people with a shared vision, Noubar Afeyan, Artur Alaverdyan, and Ruben Vardanyan, along with the Ayb Educational Foundation and the Luys Foundation, came together around one belief: Armenia's future would be built through science and technology, with the Diaspora not as a bystander or just an investor but as a partner.
In 2017, they co-founded FAST, the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology. A bridge between Armenia and its Diaspora. A way to turn a long-term vision into real, measurable progress for the country.
2017–2019
Testing the Future
In 2017, almost no one in Armenia was talking about AI. FAST believed that had to change, and that when it did, Armenia's future would look very different. The NSF-FAST Workshop on Machine Learning started that conversation, and later became the Global Innovation Forum with 3,500 participants and 200+ scientists from around the world.
At the same time, FAST built scientific depth through PhD fellowships that empowered young researchers to go further, travel grants that connected them to the global scientific community, and visiting professors who raised the bar at local universities. These early steps became the seeds of ADVANCE Research Grants, now a state-adopted international research funding program.
FAST opened its Creative Campus at the Mergelyan Institute and formed the NextGen Council, connecting young Armenian researchers and entrepreneurs worldwide and turning that into programs at home.
This increase in research capacity naturally led to company-building. In 2018, STAN launched to connect investors with science-driven startups, strengthening Armenia’s emerging science and technology ecosystem and empowering a new generation of innovators. In 2019, ASCENT followed as a deep tech venture builder, creating companies like Denovo Sciences. The Neruzh Diaspora Startup Program, launched in 2018 with the Ministry of Diaspora, brought Diaspora startups into Armenia and is now fully led by the Ministry of High-Tech Industry.
2020-2022
We pushed forward when the world stopped
The pandemic period was a testament to our resilience. As research funding was cut across the globe, FAST kept going. In the midst of global uncertainty in 2020 we launched ADVANCE Research Grants as a new way to fund research across Armenia’s science ecosystem.
That same year, Unit 1991 was established as part of the Armenian Armed Forces high-tech R&D detachment. Based on FAST's work in math, data science, and AI for national security, we ran four advanced courses for soldiers, and built two AI labs. Later, Unit 1991 became the foundation for Generation AI, a program to build AI talent from high school through PhD.
In 2022, as the world reopened, FAST expanded its global engagement. The first Advance Armenia Gala in Los Angeles marked the beginning of a new chapter—a series of galas, receptions, and events, uniting the Armenian and global community to advance science and technological innovation in Armenia and beyond.
2023-2025
Growing up and standing on their own
The institutions FAST had seeded were now ready to stand on their own.
Unit 1991 was handed to the Ministry of Defense in 2023, where it continues to grow, advancing defense-related research, education, and AI.
STAN became a fully independent organization and keeps building a culture of investment, supporting science and technology startups in Armenia and beyond.
ADVANCE, after four years of proving itself, was adopted by the government in 2025 and is now led by Armenia's Higher Education and Science Committee, securing its place in the country's research system for the long run.
But perhaps the most far-reaching shift was happening right in classrooms.
Generation AI reached public high schools across every region of Armenia in 2025, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, bringing free, advanced AI education into public high schools. For the first time, a student in a small town in Syunik had the same access to advanced AI education as anyone in Yerevan. That's what free, advanced AI education in every public high school actually means.
2026–now
Focus We Drive Armenia in the Tech Era
As FAST approaches its 10th anniversary in 2027, we reaffirm our vision of transforming Armenia into an AI and global innovation hub. What began as an ambition has evolved into a focused, system-level effort to build the foundations of long-term national competitiveness.
Through systemic AI education embedded in public schools and universities, globally connected research and science-driven entrepreneurship, we are strengthening Armenia’s capacity to compete, innovate, and lead globally.
