Nebius stock surged 49 percent after announcing a multi year agreement to supply Microsoft with dedicated GPU based AI infrastructure capacity, expected to begin in late 2025 from a Vineland New Jersey data center. The deal is worth about $17.4 billion over five years.
Nebius shares jumped 49 percent in premarket trading after the company announced a multi year agreement with Microsoft to provide dedicated GPU based AI infrastructure capacity. The move underscores growing demand for scalable GPU solutions and highlights the role of tech partnerships in AI as major cloud providers seek additional capacity for generative AI and other high performance workloads.
The rapid expansion of AI has created intense demand for specialized hardware and data center designs optimized for AI model deployment at scale. Enterprises and cloud computing platforms are racing to secure capacity for training and inference, and Microsoft is tapping external providers to support its AI powered cloud architecture. Nebius, a spinoff from Yandex, has been positioning itself as an AI focused infrastructure provider with data center builds tailored to GPU intensive workloads.
This agreement signals several shifts in the cloud ecosystem. First, it shows major providers are increasingly entering into strategic collaborations to secure scalable GPU solutions, including multi cloud and hybrid cloud integration strategies. Second, the deal gives Nebius instant credibility as a provider of cloud native AI services and AI driven data pipelines, which could attract additional enterprise customers seeking alternative suppliers for capacity constrained markets.
For Microsoft, locking in long term dedicated capacity is a hedge against future shortages that could limit the rollout of AI features across its product suite. For Nebius, the contract is a rapid growth opportunity that will require expanding data center capacity, hiring skilled staff, and demonstrating robust operational reliability to meet Microsoft standards.
Scaling to meet the terms of a multi year, large scale contract carries execution risk. Nebius will need capital and supply chain partnerships to deploy next generation GPU acceleration at scale. Maintaining security and performance will be essential, with attention to zero trust cloud security practices, AI observability tools, and sustainable AI infrastructure planning.
The Nebius Microsoft agreement is a sign of how the AI infrastructure market is evolving. As demand for GPU capacity continues to outpace supply, expect more collaborations that pair large cloud platforms with specialized providers. If Nebius can deliver on this contract starting in late 2025, it could become a significant player in the AI infrastructure landscape and a notable example of enterprise AI transformation driven by strategic tech partnerships.
