The AI revolution is in full swing and is changing industries at a rapid pace. While companies are increasingly using AI-driven solutions, the necessary infrastructure is becoming a key challenge.
$NBIS (-5,87%) is at the forefront of the AI infrastructure market and has set itself the task of solving one of the industry's most pressing bottlenecks.
The demand for AI infrastructure is not just growing - it is exploding. The shift to AI requires a new generation of data centers and computing solutions specifically tailored to the unique requirements of these technologies. $NBIS is rising to the challenge by developing advanced infrastructures designed from the ground up for optimal AI performance.
With the goal of scaling operations to hundreds of megawatts of AI computing capacity, $NBIS aims to strengthen the global AI ecosystem through innovative, high-performance solutions that are built for the future.
Origin: From Yandex to Nebius Group
The story of $NBIS (-5,87%) begins with Yandex, a company that is often referred to as the "Russian Google" in the areas of search, advertising and digital services in Russia.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Yandex faced severe geopolitical and financial consequences. Trading in its shares was suspended, the founder was sanctioned and the company came under both Western and Russian pressure.
By mid-2024, Yandex had completed the sale of its Russia-related assets after a complex restructuring process. In the course of this restructuring $NBIS (-5,87%) as a stand-alone company - completely independent and without any connection to the parent company's former Russian activities.
This must be made very clear: There is no connection whatsoever between Nebius and Russia. The management and board members have changed their nationality to Dutch or Israeli. Otherwise they would not have been able to avoid the sanctions.
Even if $NBIS (-5,87%) has taken over technical know-how and assets such as its own AI cloud platform and data center in Finland from Yandex, the company is now embarking on a completely new course. The goal is to become a leading provider of AI infrastructure in Europe and beyond. $NBIS is now run by an experienced team of engineers and researchers - many of whom have already contributed significantly to Yandex's success, particularly in building data centers, cloud architectures and advanced AI tools.
As it expands its operations, $NBIS is transforming from a legacy of previous assets into a powerful AI platform. The company plans to provide an end-to-end AI solution - from computing infrastructure to implementation and monitoring - and aims to establish itself as a global leader in AI cloud services.
What is Nebius and what services does the company offer?
At its core is $NBIS (-5,87%) a next-generation AI infrastructure company. The company's offerings are designed to meet the growing demand for high-performance AI infrastructure through a comprehensive portfolio of solutions for developers, enterprises and research organizations.
$NBIS operates on three key levels: Infrastructure, Platform and Applications, creating a seamlessly integrated ecosystem.
1) AI-centric cloud platform
$NBIS has developed an advanced cloud platform specifically designed for AI and ML workloads. It combines state-of-the-art GPU clusters with scalable storage and managed services - providing the compute power, data storage and tools needed to develop AI models.
- Optimized for AI workloads: The platform supports training, inference and fine-tuning of AI models with state-of-the-art GPUs such as NVIDIA H100 and soon H200.
- Flexibility: Resources can be scaled as needed - ideal for small tests to large-scale production scenarios.
- Reliability: Thanks to its own cloud software and internally developed server architecture, $NBIS offers low latency and minimal downtime risks.
2) Comprehensive AI infrastructure
$NBIS not only delivers raw computing power, but also offers a fully integrated infrastructure:
- Data centers: High energy efficiency and reduced operating costs lead to better unit costs and enable scalability.
- In-house server development: Servers (except NVIDIA GPUs) are developed in-house for better performance, faster deployments and significant cost savings.
- Full stack control: From server build to software to cloud implementation, $NBIS controls the entire value chain. This enables optimal resource utilization.
- Managed services: Tools such as Apache Spark and MLflow simplify workflows, allowing customers to focus on innovation rather than infrastructure management.
3) AI Studio
The Nebius AI Studio is a SaaS platform that integrates APIs for open source models, making AI development much easier for companies and researchers.
- User-friendly interface: Pre-built environments reduce setup times and increase productivity.
- Cost Efficiency: Offers some of the lowest cost per token for inference on the market.
Conclusion:
$NBIS is much more than a GPU provider - it is a full end-to-end solution for the AI industry. By combining infrastructure, platform and applications, the company enables organizations to harness the full potential of AI - while remaining flexible and future-proof in a rapidly changing technology market.
Summary: What makes Nebius special
For those less familiar with the technical details of AI infrastructure, here's an easy-to-understand overview of what sets $NBIS apart from other providers:
$NBIS is one of the world's most efficient and sustainable AI infrastructure providers. The company combines top performance with environmental awareness - and creates a clear competitive advantage in the rapidly growing AI market through cost efficiency and operational excellence.
Industry-leading cost efficiency
$NBIS offers powerful AI infrastructure at a significantly lower total cost of ownership:
- 20-25% lower costs: Total cost of ownership for GPUs and infrastructure up to 25% lower than industry average.
- Integrated value chain: In-house server development and proprietary cloud platforms enable maximum efficiency, low downtime and full cost control.
- Strategic partnerships: Long-term collaborations with leading server manufacturers (ODMs) lead to the joint development of customized, cost-effective AI hardware.
Energy efficiency and sustainability
$NBIS is committed to environmental responsibility - without sacrificing performance:
- World-class data centers: With a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of ~1.13, $NBIS is one of the most efficient in the industry - on par with Google $GOOG (-2,87%) and Microsoft $MSFT (-3,8%) .
- World-class supercomputing: Operating one of the most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world (top 5%) demonstrates the technical level of $NBIS.
First-class team and know-how
The expertise of $NBIS is based on an experienced and powerful team:
- Proven expertise: Around 400 AI/ML/Cloud engineers and about 850 technology professionals with an average of over 10 years of experience in AI, ML, LLMs and cloud infrastructure.
- Future-oriented team: Strategically designed for growth and ready to ensure scalable innovation and execution over the long term.
Strategic partnership with NVIDIA: A turning point for Nebius
The long-standing collaboration between $NBIS and $NVDA (-3,83%) NVIDIA is a cornerstone of the company's growth and competitive advantage in the AI infrastructure market. This partnership not only gives $NBIS access to the most advanced GPU technology, but also demonstrates NVIDIA's confidence in the company's potential - evidenced by a direct investment in $NBIS.
$NBIS is leading the way in integrating NVIDIA's cutting-edge hardware solutions into its AI infrastructure:
- Blackwell GPUsNebius will be the first European vendor to adopt NVIDIA's energy-efficient Blackwell platform in 2025, delivering industry-leading computing performance to its customers.
- AI-native cloud platformBuilt from the ground up on NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform, $NBIS' cloud environment is purpose-built to handle intensive and distributed AI workloads with hyperscaler reliability.
This tight alignment ensures that $NBIS customers always benefit from the latest advances in GPU technology to efficiently drive and scale innovation.
The company also relies on NVIDIA technology for its international expansion:
- GPU cluster in Kansas City - planned for launch in the first quarter of 2025 - will be equipped with thousands of NVIDIA Hopper GPUs. Blackwell GPUs will also be integrated as soon as available.
- With a potential capacity of 35,000 GPUs, this cluster represents a significant milestone in $NBIS' expansion into the U.S. and brings high-performance, low-latency AI infrastructure closer to American customers.
NVIDIA's investment: A vote of confidence
NVIDIA's financial investment further validates $NBIS' potential as a leader in AI infrastructure. The partnership not only accelerates the company's expansion plans, but also strengthens its ability to secure access to the latest GPUs - a key advantage in a highly competitive market.
Combining $NBIS' expertise in AI infrastructure with NVIDIA's hardware and cloud expertise creates a powerful synergy that positions $NBIS as a global leader in high-performance, energy-efficient AI solutions.
Market opportunity: A large and fast-growing total addressable market (TAM)
The Total Addressable Market (TAM) for AI infrastructures is growing rapidly - and $NBIS is well positioned to capitalize on this trend. According to internal company estimates:
- The TAM is expected to grow from USD 33 billion in 2023 to over USD 260 billion by 2030which corresponds to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35%. This exponential growth is primarily driven by the increasing adoption of AI across various industries and the growing demand for compute-intensive solutions for AI workloads.
- A key growth driver will be inference workloadswhich are expected to account for 64% of AI server spend by 2027 - up from 34% in 2023. As AI applications move from the development (training) to the deployment (inference) phase, $NBIS' comprehensive AI infrastructure is ideally suited to these changing requirements.
External factors are also creating attractive conditions for further growth: the market for GPU-as-a-Service and AI clouds is expected to grow eightfold over the next seven years. This opens up enormous expansion opportunities for infrastructure providers such as $NBIS.
Internally, $NBIS is relying on its competitive advantages to exploit this market opportunity:
- Expanding the customer base: The company is focusing on long-term contracts with existing customers while simultaneously tapping into new customer segments. In addition, $NBIS actively supports existing customers in scaling their AI workloads.
- Value-added services: By continuously expanding its product portfolio - e.g. through API-based SaaS offerings for open source models, $NBIS ensures that it can cover a wide variety of customer needs, from developers to large enterprises.
As the generative AI market grows, $NBIS is actively shaping the ecosystem thanks to its focus on high-performance, cost-effective and sustainable AI infrastructures. Combined with ambitious expansion plans and strong strategic partnerships, the company is well positioned to secure a significant share of this booming market.
Now let's take a look at the figures for $$NBIS (-5,87%)
The company has an extremely solid balance sheet with over $2 billion in cash reserves and zero debt. This financial strength gives $NBIS the leeway it needs to realize its ambitious expansion plans and capitalize on the rapidly growing market for generative AI infrastructure.
Explosive ARR growth
The company's Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) recorded phenomenal growth of USD 21 million at the end of 2023 to a projected value of USD 170-190 million by the end of 2024. This corresponds to an eight- to nine-fold increase within just one year.
The drivers of this growth are:
- Expansion of the customer base: The number of active customers rose from just 10 to over 40, and expansion into new customer segments is likely to further accelerate this trend.
- Massive capacity expansion: GPU capacity increased from around 2,000 to over 20,000 GPUs - a tenfold increase that enables significantly higher workloads.
- Growing usage: Existing customers have massively expanded their AI workloads, resulting in recurring business and sustained revenue growth.
Outlook 2025
$NBIS plans to continue this growth trajectory in 2025, with the following goals:
- $750m to $1bn ARR by the end of the year
- Sales between $500-700m. and Achieve profitability with adjusted EBITDA
- $600 million to $1.5 billion in capital expenditure (CAPEX)primarily in:
- NVIDIA GB200 GPUsto expand computing capacity
- Data center infrastructure: both owned, greenfield projects and colocation space to support increasing customer volumes
Medium-term vision
Beyond 2025, $NBIS aims to achieve annual revenues in the billions supported by:
- Capturing the market in the GPUaaS and AI cloud segment: Leveraging the strong growth of these vertical markets to increase market share
- Infrastructure expansion: Further increase in GPU capacity and expansion of global network of data centers (already discussed in a previous post)
- Diversification of customer base: Entry into new customer segments, conclusion of additional long-term contracts and deeper market penetration
- Product innovation: Introduction of additional value-added services such as API SaaS offerings for open source models to better cover growing and diverse customer needs
