Nebius Shares Soar 49% on Verified $19.4B Microsoft AI Deal

Nebius Group, a spinoff from Russian internet giant Yandex specializing in GPU-powered AI infrastructure, has secured a multi-year deal with Microsoft valued between $17.4 billion and $19.4 billion through 2031 to provide cloud computing power for AI workloads. The agreement, one of the largest AI infrastructure contracts, includes dedicated AI cloud capacity from a new data center in Vineland, New Jersey, starting later this year, addressing Microsoft's ongoing AI cloud capacity constraints. This deal has propelled Nebius shares to surge nearly 50% in premarket trading, with significant year-to-date and one-year gains, reflecting investor excitement and the company's accelerated AI growth plans for 2026 and beyond. Microsoft's commitment highlights the intense demand for AI computing power as it expands its AI services amid capacity shortages. Nebius CEO Arkady Volozh expressed optimism about further growth and potential additional long-term contracts with leading AI labs and tech companies. The broader AI infrastructure sector also saw positive market reactions, with competitor CoreWeave's shares rising amid the news.