Shares in Nebius Group climbed on Thursday after the company unveiled a new partnership model for its AI cloud services, designed to give UK businesses more flexible access to high-performance computing. The stock rose 4.8% in early trading, making it one of the top gainers on the day, though the company is not listed on the FTSE indices.
The new model, described by Nebius as a 'co-innovation framework', allows clients to co-develop AI workloads with Nebius engineers while sharing infrastructure costs. The approach is intended to lower the barrier for mid-sized UK firms that cannot afford the upfront investment required by larger hyperscalers.
Nebius, which rebranded from Yandex N.V. last year, has been pivoting towards AI infrastructure since selling off its Russian businesses. The company operates data centres in Finland and the Netherlands, and has been expanding its presence in the European cloud market. The announcement comes as UK businesses increasingly seek alternatives to US-dominated cloud providers amid growing data sovereignty concerns.
Analysts at Berenberg noted that the partnership model could help Nebius differentiate itself in a crowded market. 'By sharing both risk and reward, Nebius is offering a value proposition that resonates with smaller enterprises and scale-ups,' they said in a note. However, they cautioned that the company still faces significant competition from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, which together control the majority of the UK cloud market.
For UK investors and pension holders with exposure to technology funds, the development highlights the shifting landscape of AI infrastructure. While Nebius is not a FTSE constituent, its success could pressure margins across the sector, potentially affecting the share prices of larger listed tech firms. The broader European tech sector saw mixed trading, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Technology index edging up 0.3%.