Ruben Simonyan Participates in AI Conf 2024 Panel Discussion

Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, Ruben Simonyan, took part in a panel discussion on "Artificial Intelligence in the Government" during AI Conf 2024, held on October 12. The panel also featured RA Deputy Minister of Economy, Sevak Mikayelyan, and Director of the Information Systems Agency of Armenia, Nerses Yeritsyan.

In his remarks, Ruben Simonyan highlighted the role of AI specialists in Armenia and the Ministry's efforts to harness this potential. He noted that the Ministry of High-Tech Industry has already initiated meetings with private companies. "There are over 45 Armenian companies developing and providing digital solutions. The purpose of these meetings is to share our vision and goals, along with upcoming steps and a clear plan," Simonyan said.

He further emphasized that strategic plans are currently under development to outline clear directions for AI and other key areas. According to Simonyan, the Armenian Government, along with several international organizations, allocates substantial resources each year to support digitization, and effective use of these resources remains crucial.

Simonyan also spoke about the Ministry’s initiatives to support startups. "This year, alongside our primary initiatives and programs, we brought the renowned international accelerator Plug and Play to Armenia. The accelerator will run a 26-week program with 14 weeks of mentorship. Several startups have already applied, with products and ideas that are AI-focused," he added.

Additionally, Simonyan highlighted that the Supercomputing Center at the Engineering City has made its resources available free of charge to institutes and specialists. He shared that around 20 research projects are currently utilizing the supercomputer. "The supercomputer will facilitate knowledge acquisition, enable innovative solutions to complex problems, and build capacity to position Armenia as a leading technological hub," Simonyan said.

Nerses Yeritsyan, another speaker, discussed data storage initiatives and the agency's ongoing work, stressing the importance of coordinated efforts in this area. Sevak Mikayelyan elaborated on the Ministry of Economy's initiatives to help businesses digitize their operations.

The discussion was moderated by Artavazd Minasyan, CEO and Co-Founder of Krisp, Co-Founder and Executive Director of 10Web, and Co-Founder of the BigStory venture fund.