Nebius Group plans 310 MW AI data center in Finland, stock surges on infrastructure expansion

Nebius Group Unveils Major AI Data Center Project in Finland

Nebius Group has announced plans to construct a 310 MW AI factory in Lappeenranta, Finland, marking a significant milestone in the company's infrastructure expansion strategy 1

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. The announcement triggered a 12.5% surge in Nebius Group stock, reflecting investor confidence in the company's aggressive growth trajectory 1

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. Once fully operational, the facility will rank among Europe's largest dedicated AI compute facilities, with first capacity expected to come online in 2027 1

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. This represents Nebius' second venture in Finland this year, following the establishment of a data center in Mäntsälä with up to 75 MW capacity earlier in 2025 1

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Strategic Push Toward 3 Gigawatts of Global Power Capacity

The Lappeenranta project serves as a growth catalyst in Nebius' broader ambition to secure more than 3 gigawatts of contracted power globally by 2026 1

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. The company has already achieved 750 MW of contracted power in EMEA and is advancing parallel projects across the region, including a 240-MW AI factory near Lille, France 1

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. Beyond Europe, Nebius secured approval last month to build its first gigawatt-scale AI factory in Kansas City, Missouri 1

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. Having secured more than 2 GW of contracted power, the company remains on track to deliver 800 MW to 1 GW of data center capacity by the end of 2026 1

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. For 2026, Nebius expects capital expenditures of $30 billion to $35 billion and plans to double active power capacity to more than 1.7 GW 1

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NVIDIA Partnership Powers Advanced AI Training and Inference Capabilities

Nebius' AI factory deployments leverage the latest technology from NVIDIA, including Blackwell and Rubin generations, positioning the company to support advanced AI training and inference workloads 1

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. The Mäntsälä facility already hosts Europe's first operational deployment of NVIDIA's GB300 NVL72 platform, with plans to introduce next-generation NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 systems later this year 1

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. The Lappeenranta site will similarly utilize advanced NVIDIA platforms alongside energy-efficient cooling systems 2

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. This GPU procurement strategy enables Nebius to compete in the high-performance computing market where AI cloud expansion demands cutting-edge hardware.

Financial Backing and Revenue Projections Signal Aggressive Growth

On March 23, Nebius announced the closing of a private convertible notes offering with aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $4.3375 billion 2

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. The proceeds are earmarked specifically for data center construction, AI cloud expansion, and GPU procurement 2

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. For 2026, the company expects revenues between $3 billion and $3.4 billion, with an annualized run-rate revenue target of $7 billion to $9 billion by year-end 1

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. These ambitious financial targets underscore the company's confidence in capturing significant market share in the AI infrastructure space.

Stock Momentum and Analyst Sentiment Remain Positive

Nebius Group stock experienced a remarkable rebound, climbing from approximately $90 late Monday to over $108 by Thursday's close, representing roughly 21% growth in just a few sessions 2

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. The stock is currently trending back above its 20-day and 50-day moving averages while remaining well above the rising 200-day average, suggesting improving short-term momentum within an intact longer-term uptrend 2

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. Analysts maintain a Buy Rating with an average price target of $164.40 2

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. Recent analyst actions include B of A Securities initiating coverage with a Buy rating and $150 price target on March 24, while DA Davidson and BWS Financial both raised their price targets to $200 on March 16 2

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Competitive Landscape Intensifies in AI Infrastructure Market

Despite its aggressive expansion, Nebius faces intense competition from tech giants including Amazon, Microsoft, Google's parent Alphabet, and pure plays like CoreWeave 1

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. Amazon added 1 GW of computing capacity in the fourth quarter of 2025 and 3.9 GW over the past 12 months, with plans to double overall capacity by 2027 1

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. To support this growth, Amazon plans to invest approximately $200 billion in capital expenditures, with the majority directed toward AWS infrastructure 1

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. This competitive pressure means Nebius must execute flawlessly on its expansion timeline while differentiating through specialized AI training and inference capabilities. Investors should monitor how Nebius captures enterprise customers and whether its European footprint provides strategic advantages in data sovereignty and latency-sensitive applications.