The Diaspora Investment Surge: Why Armenian-Americans Are Finally Betting on Yerevan

Narek: You've been running Hayastan Ventures out of Los Angeles for three years. What made you focus on Armenia specifically?

Tigran: For me it was partly personal — I'm third-generation Armenian-American, my grandparents came over after the genocide, and Armenia has always been theoretical for me. A place of identity, not a place of opportunity. Then I went to Yerevan for the first time in 2021 and I was completely wrong about it.

Narek: What surprised you?

Tigran: The talent density and the cost. I sat with engineering teams at three companies. These were senior engineers who had worked at FAANG companies or top European tech firms and came back. Their salary expectations were one third of what they'd earn in San Francisco. The code they showed me was world-class. If you're a venture investor and you're not paying attention to this, you're missing something.

Narek: Is the diaspora investor community more engaged now than five years ago?

Tigran: Significantly. After 2020 — after the war — a lot of diaspora Armenians reassessed their relationship with the country. For the philanthropic generation, that meant donations. For my generation, it meant investment. There's a real cohort of Armenian-Americans in their 30s and 40s who are writing checks into Yerevan startups, and it's not charity — they expect returns. That's new.