Nebius closes $643M Eigen AI acquisition to boost inference platform

Nebius (NBIS) completed its $643 million acquisition of Eigen AI, adding inference optimization to its AI cloud platform as the company races to capture higher-margin workloads in the shift from model training to real-time AI inference.

"This acquisition gives Nebius a critical piece of the AI value chain — the ability to optimize models for production deployment at scale," said Arkady Volozh, chief executive officer of Nebius, in a statement.

The deal, announced May 1 and closed June 10 after receiving required regulatory approvals, brings Eigen AI's inference and model optimization technology in-house. Nebius also acquired Tavily, forming what management calls a "token factory" platform for inference workloads. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $399 million, up 684% year-over-year, with adjusted EBITDA swinging to a profit of $129.5 million from a loss in the prior-year period.

The acquisition comes as Nebius pursues an aggressive $22.5 billion capital expenditure program for 2026, targeting as much as 1 gigawatt of data center capacity by year-end. Major projects include a gigawatt-scale AI factory in Pennsylvania, about $2.1 billion in United Kingdom facilities, and a large complex in Missouri. The spending is underpinned by contracted revenue including a $17.4 billion GPU infrastructure deal with Microsoft Corp. and a $27 billion five-year agreement with Meta Platforms Inc., as well as a $2 billion strategic investment from Nvidia Corp.

Nebius shares have gained about 212% year-to-date, reflecting both the Nasdaq-100 inclusion effective June 22 and the company's rapid fundamental momentum. The index addition is expected to generate mechanical buying pressure from passive funds and exchange-traded funds tracking the benchmark.

The company's strategic pivot toward inference workloads positions it to capture higher margins as the AI industry shifts from capital-intensive model training toward real-time production deployment. Hedge fund Situational Awareness, run by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, acquired a 5.6% stake in Nebius for $2.6 billion, betting that physical infrastructure remains the true bottleneck for AI advancement.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.