Nebius vows to hit 1 GW of AI compute capacity — and will use every financial trick to get there

Nebius, the European GPU-as-a-service provider, has announced an ambitious plan to rapidly scale its data center capacity to 1 gigawatt. The company, founded by Arkady Volozh, says it will pursue every available financial avenue to fund the expansion, including debt financing and equipment leasing.

Speaking to investors, Volozh emphasized that demand for AI compute remains extraordinarily strong while supply stays tight. That imbalance, he argued, gives Nebius the confidence to pour capital into new infrastructure without fearing a glut of idle capacity. "The shortage is real, and it's not going away soon," he said.

The roadmap includes new data center campuses across Europe and the United States, with several projects developed in partnership with third parties to reduce upfront capital expenditure. Nebius is also weighing the issuance of convertible bonds as an additional source of funding. The company says the 1 GW target is comparable to the scale of the world's largest data center operators.

A key part of the strategy is flexibility: customers will be able to access both current-generation NVIDIA accelerators and upcoming models as they hit the market. Nebius is already in talks with clients about multi-year contracts, which Volozh believes will secure predictable revenue and keep utilization rates high.

The first phases of the new facilities are expected to come online within the next few quarters. Nebius did not disclose the total investment required, but analysts estimate the buildout will cost billions of dollars. The company's stock rose modestly following the announcement, as investors welcomed the clarity of the expansion plan.