Nebius, the Amsterdam-based AI infrastructure company formerly part of Yandex, has raised $700 million in strategic equity financing, with investors like NVIDIA, Accel, and Orbis Investments leading the charge. The funds aim to accelerate Nebius’ expansion in AI infrastructure across key markets, including the U.S.
Why It Matters: This raise gives Nebius significant "firepower" to build AI infrastructure at a faster pace, according to CEO Arkady Volozh. Positioned to meet the escalating demands of the AI industry, Nebius is expanding its capabilities in GPU clusters, cloud platforms, and developer tools to optimize AI workflows – from training models to deploying them.
"The foundation of our business is our expertise in building advanced technology infrastructure," said Volozh. "We have shown our ambition across two continents. This financing lets us move faster and larger." With the new investment, the company has updated its financial forecast, expecting annualized run-rate revenue of $750 million to $1 billion by the end of 2025 – an upgrade from their previous projection.
Accel's View on Nebius: Accel partner Matt Weigand, who will join Nebius’ board, emphasized Nebius' strengths in integrating hardware and software. "Their unique combination allows them to optimize every part of the stack for quality and cost-effectiveness," Weigand said. He believes Nebius is well-positioned to become a key player in the AI infrastructure space, which is growing increasingly vital as businesses lean on AI to drive future growth.
A Capital-Intensive Push: Nebius' ambitions aren't cheap. Despite already having $2.2 billion in cash following the divestment of its Russian assets, Nebius aims to secure even more funding to keep pace with competitors like CoreWeave, who are also in a race to expand globally. The current $700 million funding round is part of a broader effort to ensure Nebius can maintain its aggressive expansion schedule.
The Bigger Picture: The company's approach combines building custom data centers with co-location facilities, allowing for flexible expansion in key markets. In recent months, Nebius has already announced plans for a GPU cluster in Kansas City and expanded its presence in Paris, while also planning to triple the capacity of its Finnish data center.
(left) Kansas City DC and Mäntsälä DC (right)
These moves come as the company looks to establish itself as a “backbone” provider in AI infrastructure, offering lower costs for AI developers in an increasingly competitive cloud market.
"Technology and capital are the core of this business," said Volozh. "I don't worry about the tech. Capital is what will allow us to move quicker."
Nebius’ path from Yandex’s spin-off to becoming a major AI infrastructure player is ambitious – but this oversubscribed funding round suggests investors believe in its vision.
What's Next: The funding round also sees Nebius scrap its earlier plans for a share buyback, freeing up more cash to invest in its infrastructure. With investor excitement and a healthy balance sheet, Nebius seems ready to take on the AI infrastructure race on both sides of the Atlantic.
Expect to see Nebius' footprint grow, as AI developers continue to seek more powerful, efficient, and cost-effective solutions for their cloud-based needs.