Source: The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
The US deployed semiconductor access as direct diplomatic currency in the Caucasus, offering Armenian officials an Nvidia-powered data center as a negotiating incentive for peace talks with Azerbaijan. Chip supply has moved from a residual geopolitical lever to an explicit, transactional bargaining tool. Washington appears to view control over advanced computing hardware as interchangeable with traditional foreign aid or security guarantees. The move reflects how deeply AI and compute infrastructure have become embedded in statecraft, where data center capacity now carries weight alongside military support or economic sanctions.