AI Agents and the Next Economy: Insights from Armenia’s Doing Digital Forum 2026

Doing Digital Forum (DDF), took place in Yerevan for its fourth consecutive year under the theme "Bridging Platforms and Economies".

YEREVAN, YEREVAN, ARMENIA, April 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The premier Armenian event for the digital economy and financial technology, the Doing Digital Forum (DDF), took place in Yerevan for its fourth consecutive year. Under the theme "Bridging Platforms and Economies," the forum gathered approximately 30 local and international speakers, including leading experts, business representatives, and public sector officials, to explore the future of the global digital landscape.

Tatevik Simonyan, Founder of Doing Digital Forum and Co-Founder of SPRING PR, Forum’s organizer, opened the event by highlighting how digital technologies are transforming not only business connectivity but how entire economies interlink. “In the recent past, these connections were built through states, banks, and traditional trade relations; today, they are primarily formed around digital platforms, data, and financial technologies. This has become a new environment where economies are united not by roads, but by data, algorithms, and digital infrastructures,” she noted.

The central theme served as an invitation to think strategically about our collective role in shaping the architecture of tomorrow’s global economy. Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia, noted that despite global uncertainties, the current era also presents unique opportunities. “Armenia, situated at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, is uniquely positioned to be a bridge in the true sense—linking markets, ideas, capital, and talent across continents,” Galstyan stated. He added: “But for that bridge to come to fruition, it must be built on solid ground. It is macroeconomic stability and institutional credibility that provide that ground. With the right financial and digital infrastructure in place, our partners in Armenia and around the world will be well-positioned to innovate, invest, and build the economy of tomorrow.”

According to Mkhitar Hayrapetyan, Minister of High-Tech Industry of the RA, building a digital society and economy based on trust is a strategic priority for the Government. "Artificial intelligence aims to simplify the lives of citizens and create an environment of trust and predictability for the private sector. It serves to protect citizen data, build infrastructure, and provide a new environment for the development of technology and innovation," the Minister emphasized.

Adding to this national vision, Eduard Hakobyan, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, presented a strategy to position Armenia as a regional technological and logistics hub. "By combining international tax transparency, 'smart borders,' and e-commerce integration, Armenia is emerging as a high-trust technological and logistical crossroads," Hakobyan stated.

The agenda featured keynote speeches and panel discussions centered on the harmonious collaboration between AI agents and human potential, the interconnection of financial capital and technological platforms, and the balancing of regulatory frameworks alongside rapid innovation.
This year’s special guest, Leiming Chen, Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer at Ant International, shared his vision of "agentic commerce" during a fireside chat with David Pollack, Innovation Ecosystem Leader and Managing Partner at Unchain. "AI has already become a core layer of financial infrastructure," Chen remarked. "The next phase is AI agents acting as active participants... fundamentally changing money from something static and user-driven to something dynamic, programmable, and increasingly autonomous."

In his keynote, Oleksandr Yablunivskyy, VP and Head of Products and Solutions at Visa CISSEE, discussed the payment ecosystem in the age of agentic AI, citing Deloitte research that predicts agentic AI will influence 30% of digital commerce, a $17.5 trillion opportunity, by 2030. "The next stage will be when the agent initiates the transaction under human control, and then that agent will conclude autonomous transactions. This means that we will delegate not only our purchases, but also our intentions," Yablunivskyy stated, noting that the most critical challenges ahead involve security and consumer trust.
Matias Undurraga, Enterprise Technologist at Amazon Web Services (AWS), declared the end of the digital transformation era, urging companies to become AI-native. “An AI-native enterprise is a company that uses AI not as a tool, nor like a chatbot. It uses AI to rethink the way it operates and the way it builds. Their teams think about AI not as a tool, but as teammates" said Undurraga.

Dirk Ohlmeier, CEO of Just Better, addressed the fundamental shift in leadership, urging leaders to move out of the "dark zone" of fearing replacement. "AI is not replacing us; you will be replaced by humans who use AI. We are in an age of infinite opportunity, but it requires a leader who uses ultimate human power, curiosity, creativity, and courage, and supports it with AI. AI is here to push you and make you better," Ohlmeier said.

Other sessions explored open finance, new payment ecosystem, and the interconnection between digital infrastructures and the real economy.
“The next stage of financial infrastructure is a more direct connection between platforms and economies,” noted Artur Kartshikyan, Founder and CEO of aeda wallet. “New financial rails allow value to move more freely - linking markets, unlocking new opportunities, and strengthening economic ties beyond borders.”
According to Aram Azatyan, Founder and Director of Finbox, Armenia's first and only independent ATM network, completely abandoning cash is currently unrealistic. Finbox's approach is that accessibility to cash actually supports the growth of cashless transactions.

Sadyk Azimov, Deputy General Director for Digitalization at Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), emphasized that for the mining industry, digitalization is a fundamental shift in business operations. "Digitalization is a complex transformation that redefines how we operate, moving beyond simple technical upgrades to integrated, end-to-end management processes," Azimov stated. He noted that by leveraging real-time data and sensors, ZCMC is creating a "single source of truth" that optimizes production while fundamentally enhancing safety and ESG compliance.

Since its launch in 2023, DDF has featured the latest technological developments and economic trends, bringing together over 90 prominent speakers and up to 4,000 participants from 15 countries such as Armenia, Georgia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the UAE, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Poland and
The forum is organized by SPRING PR, with Visa serving as the Innovation Partner, imID as the Digital Identity Partner, aeda as the Blockchain Partner, Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine as the Industrial Transformation Partner, and Freedom Broker Armenia as the Investment partner.

Tatevik Simonyan
SPRIN GROUP LLC
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