Nebius: From Tech Giant to Ambitious Startup | Festina Lente - Your leading source of AI news | Turtles AI

Highlights:

• Nebius emerges from Yandex’s ashes with a strong base of resources and expertise.
• The focus is on building large-scale AI infrastructure in Europe.
• Complete separation from Russia was crucial for the company’s rebirth.
• The decision to remain a public company is strategic for capital raising.

Nebius: From Tech Giant to Ambitious Startup, Beyond Russian Borders

Nebius, an AI infrastructure company risen from Yandex’s ashes, is not your typical startup. With 1,300 employees and $2.5 billion in capital, it represents a new phase of technological innovation, distanced from Russia.

Nebius is an atypical startup. While it has to start from scratch, it already possesses significant resources and technological know-how. Yandex co-founder and CEO Arkady Volozh, who led the company through its explosive growth phase, now leads this new venture after his removal from the EU sanctions list.

Yandex’s complex past saw the company reach a market cap of $31 billion in 2021. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine drastically changed the landscape, leading to the suspension of Yandex’s shares on Nasdaq and a complex reorganization to completely separate the entity from Russia. This transition culminated in the sale of Russian assets to a local consortium for $5.4 billion, a reduced price due to Russian regulations mandating significant discounts for sales to foreign companies.

Now, under the name Nebius, the company aims to build a robust and competitive AI infrastructure in Europe. Nebius stands out in the market not only for its initial resources but also for its prior experience in technological infrastructure. The data center in Finland, with an established partnership with Nvidia, is a fundamental pillar for its expansion plans.

Volozh emphasized that Nebius intends to triple the capacity of the Finnish data center and is negotiating to build new data centers across Europe. This ambitious expansion plan fits into a competitive market dominated by large tech companies and startups focused on GPU-as-a-service.

Nebius aims to become a leader in the European AI market, leveraging its experience and resources to compete effectively. The decision to remain a public company, according to Volozh, is strategic for efficiently raising capital, allowing Nebius to compete with sector giants that have invested enormous resources in AI infrastructure.

The Nebius team, mainly composed of engineers who have already worked on large-scale global infrastructures, represents another strength. Amsterdam has become the company’s main headquarters, with significant hubs in Israel, the United States, and Serbia, reflecting the company’s ability to attract and manage global talent.

This transformation of Nebius occurred alongside the need to completely separate technology and operations from Russian ties, a complex but necessary process for its rebirth and future success. Volozh, though based in Tel Aviv, continues to lead the company with optimism and determination, seeing this new venture as an unprecedented opportunity.