YEREVAN, MARCH 3, ARMENPRESS. In a brand-new series called TechTalk, ARMENPRESS explores the innovative tech scene of Armenia and the talents behind it. Hosted by ARMENPRESS tech reporter Karine Terteryan, TechTalk meets with developers and entrepreneurs shaping the booming startup sector of the country, as well as businessmen and educators who are integrating technologies in their projects.

ARMENPRESS TechTalk’s first guest is Startup Armenia Foundation co-founder Tigran Petrosyan. We covered a wide range of issues, such as the chances of Armenia becoming a tech hub, what it takes to have a successful startup, and of course no tech interview would be complete without a mention of AI.  

Below are excerpts from the TechTalk interview.

ARMENPRESS: Given the growth of startups in the country, do you think Armenia could become a tech hub?

Petrosyan: I notice a trend of becoming a tech hub. But there are challenges. The startup culture and entrepreneurship has become a trend and in all developing countries they are trying to somehow absorb other players in the sector. Many representatives of startup ecosystems from various countries tell me that their particular country is going to become a tech hub. We and the other members of the startup ecosystem are doing everything we can in order for Armenia to become a hub in any sense.

ARMENPRESS: Is Armenia competitive on a global level?

Petrosyan: Taking into account our size and economic condition, I think there are trends that Armenia will become at least one of the hubs if not the leading hub where good products and teams can be created and this will all become one of the locomotives of our country.

ARMENPRESS: What does it take for startups to grow and achieve global success?

Petrosyan: It’s not one particular thing; the development of startups depends on many things. I believe that what matters most is the team, because if the person knows what they are doing, has faith in their vision, then it is a lot more likely and easier to create a project.  In many cases there are ideas, but when you hear them out and realize that the given person and team lack the ability to realize this idea then the idea itself does no longer matter. But the opposite happens too, when there’s a team and you see that they want to bring change, perhaps their idea is a bit flawed but still you can rely on that team and achieve success by making some changes or even radically transforming the startup. Of course investments matter, the process gets complicated when there’s a good team but no investments, but at the same time a good team will always have investments because having investments isn’t as difficult as creating a good team. When creating startups people think ‘what if we aren’t good enough’? I’d advise everyone to make the steps forward and understand the reality while doing so. There’s only one way here, keep moving forward regardless of anything.

ARMENPRESS: In what direction is the startup ecosystem developing? Can we say that AI had a significant impact on the ecosystem? Is this seen in Armenia?

Petrosyan: Today, artificial intelligence is changing the world and all kinds of projects are trying to have AI components, in Armenia as well. We have projects that didn’t have that component before but now we see that they’ve incorporated it. It’s difficult to say whether or not AI is the future, all of that are interconnected things. Some technologies become obsolete and the new ones take over, but there is no such technology which we can describe as the technology of technologies.

ARMENPRESS: When the film industry began to develop, some people were saying that it would be the end of theater. Do you think that AI could take over jobs in the future and simply become the end for some sectors?

Petrosyan: I think that the sectors themselves will start integrating AI. I don’t think there’ll be a clash. AI is a good and supporting thing. AI helps projects to develop better solutions, become more flexible and faster. Industry will seek to integrate AI by all means.