Nebius AI, formerly Yandex N.V., relaunched on Nasdaq after a nearly three-year hiatus following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The company, now headquartered in the Netherlands, has restructured and divests its Russian assets, focusing on AI cloud infrastructure.

Key Highlights

  • Nebius AI's core business offers GPUs as a service, directly competing with major cloud providers and startups like CoreWeave.
  • The company's unusual IPO involved resuming trade after a long pause with a completely different business focus.
  • Despite market volatility, Nebius AI's valuation has stabilized, indicating investor confidence.

Led by co-founder Arkady Volozh, Nebius AI aims to expand its presence in the U.S. with a new GPU cluster in Kansas City, complementing its existing data center in Finland and a new cluster in Paris. OpenAI's research funding reflects similar growth in the AI sector.

Beyond Cloud Infrastructure

  • Nebius AI comprises other ventures, including Avride (autonomous vehicles), Toloka (generative AI and LLMs), and TripleTen (edtech). ChatGPT's evolution highlights the growing importance of LLMs.
  • Avride, spun out from Yandex's self-driving unit, has partnered with Uber for food delivery robots and future robotaxi services.
  • Toloka focuses on data labeling for LLMs, working with clients like Amazon and Hugging Face.

While cloud infrastructure remains Nebius AI's primary focus, the company explores integrating its diverse ventures to offer a comprehensive suite of services for AI companies. For more on market trends, see Startup Funding and Acquisitions.