Arkady Volozh, the billionaire founder of Russia’s Google, Yandex, is set to make a comeback as CEO of a new European AI company, Nebius Group. After being forced to step down from Yandex following EU sanctions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Volozh is now leading a new venture that promises to revolutionize the AI infrastructure landscape.
Nebius Group is effectively a reinvention of Yandex, with Volozh and his team salvaging parts of the business that were already based abroad, including four business units focused on AI. These assets will be rebranded and turned into one of the leading AI infrastructure companies in the world.
Volozh has spent the past two years in complex negotiations with the Kremlin, selling off parts of Yandex still based in Russia, including the search engine. The deal saw Yandex’s Dutch parent company accept a cut-down price of just $5 billion. Despite the challenges, Volozh is eager to start anew, saying, “This life is different. It feels very good to be free and to start something new.”
Nebius’ main business will be its cloud division, offering AI developers access to Big Tech-style infrastructure without the conflicting interests of US giants. The company already owns one data center in Finland, plans to triple capacity this year, and is building several others from scratch.
Volozh emphasizes the importance of infrastructure in the AI industry, saying, “We are building infrastructure for the people who build the models to build AI.” Nebius is investing billions in capital and plans to raise more, with the goal of exceeding 100 megawatts of rented capacity. Many of the company’s 1,300 European employees are former Yandex employees from Russia, and Volozh aims to replicate the same formula that made Yandex successful, with units dedicated to self-driving, data labeling, and education tech.
