Former Yandex CEO Volozh Returns with Ambitious AI Infrastructure Project

Arkady Volozh, the founder of Nebius and former CEO of Yandex, is embarking on a new venture to establish Nebius as a leading AI infrastructure company.

Following a significant $5.4 billion deal that detached the company from its Russian origins, Nebius is now poised for global expansion.

Nebius, a newly established Dutch company led by Volozh, aims to be at the forefront of building AI infrastructure. In a statement to Reuters, Volozh expressed his vision of Nebius playing a pivotal role in the rapidly advancing AI sector.

Earlier this week, Russian buyers finalized a $5.4 billion acquisition of Yandex’s Russian assets from the Dutch parent company Yandex NV (now Nebius Group), marking the largest corporate exit since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This deal also meant that foreign ownership of shares in Russia’s largest tech company was no longer permitted, increasing the likelihood of the Kremlin's oversight of Russia’s internet space.

With the separation from Russia, Nebius Group is now free to pursue international growth. Additionally, Volozh is no longer under EU sanctions, which had compelled him to step down as CEO of Yandex in 2022.

“Freedom is exhilarating, especially when it comes with substantial resources to build something groundbreaking,” Volozh told Reuters.

In his first public address since August of the previous year, Volozh revealed his ambition to develop extensive infrastructure on Nebius’ cloud platform, aimed at supporting the global AI industry. This includes establishing large GPU clusters, cloud platforms, and comprehensive developer tools and services.

“Our goal is for Nebius to become one of the world’s foremost AI infrastructure companies, particularly in Europe,” Volozh stated. He likened the current AI boom to the internet revolution of the 1990s, which he experienced firsthand as the founder of Yandex.

Nebius retains YNV’s Nasdaq listing and aims to resume trading soon, positioning itself as a unique AI infrastructure stock outside of Big Tech.

Operating a data center in Finland, Nebius designs hardware internally and employs over 1,000 engineers, many of whom were recruited from Russia during the conflict. The company anticipates breaking even within a few months, driven by strong demand for AI infrastructure.

Volozh emphasized the high demand in the market, stating, “We are in a supply-driven market; whatever we build is pre-ordered months in advance. Riding this wave will be thrilling.”

Despite the low sale price of its Russian business, Nebius has funds available from the deal. Some proceeds will be used to buy back shares from investors holding untraded Nasdaq stock.

“Infrastructure is a capital-intensive industry,” Volozh noted. He projected that Nebius would invest billions of dollars, with funding sourced both internally and through external financing options like debt or equity.

Plans for the Finnish data center include tripling its capacity and adding hundreds of megawatts of power within the next year. With a longstanding partnership with Nvidia, Nebius has reliable access to GPUs, providing smaller companies with essential resources for AI development.

Convincing investors of Nebius’ potential might be challenging, especially with the potential resumption of Nasdaq trading as early as September. Volozh acknowledged the difficulty in setting a target share price due to Nebius being a distinct entity from Yandex and welcomed investors to stay or exit as they see fit.