Who Is Nebius

Who Is Behind the AI Mega Factory?

Nebius Group N.V. is a European company spun out of Yandex—often called "the Google of Russia."

It has plans to build three hyperscale AI factories in the U.S., but so far has no track record here.

Its CEO was sanctioned by the European Union for his role at Yandex relating to search results about the war in Ukraine that were found to support the Kremlin's narrative. The sanctions were later lifted, after he divested from Russian assets and publicly criticized the war.

Nebius insists it would be a good neighbor.

But its almost total lack of transparency and its rush to permit an industrial-scale project in the middle of the Oxmoor neighborhood—without any meaningful dialogue—does not appear to support that claim.

EU Sanctions

In June 2022, the European Union sanctioned CEO Arkady Volozh, stating that his company was "responsible for promoting state media and narratives in its search results, and deranking and removing content critical of the Kremlin."

Volozh resigned as Yandex CEO and surrendered his voting rights. He later publicly criticized Russia's war in Ukraine.

The EU lifted sanctions against Volozh in March 2024 after he petitioned for relief and committed to fully divesting from the Russian business. Most recently, Volozh formally renounced his Russian citizenship.

Investors and Partners

In December 2024, Nebius raised $700 million through a private placement from investors including NVIDIA, Accel, and Orbis Investments.