Nebius Group shares surge 11% as former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner takes major stake

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Nebius Group shares climbed over 10% in premarket trading after Situational Awareness, an investment firm run by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner, disclosed a 5.6% stake worth nearly $2.6 billion. The investment marks a significant vote of confidence in the AI infrastructure market as Nebius reported an eightfold rise in quarterly revenue.

Former OpenAI Employee Takes Major Position in AI Infrastructure Firm

Nebius Group shares experienced a stock surge of over 10% in premarket trading on Thursday after Situational Awareness, an investment firm founded by former OpenAI employee Leopold Aschenbrenner, disclosed a 5.6% stake in the Amsterdam-based AI infrastructure company

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. The Aschenbrenner stake, revealed in a regulatory filing late Wednesday, is valued at nearly $2.6 billion as of Wednesday's close, making Situational Awareness the biggest shareholder in Nebius Group

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Source: ET

Source: ET

Situational Awareness Fund's Rapid Growth

The investment firm managed $13.67 billion as of March 31, representing a remarkable 148% growth from the end of 2025

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. Aschenbrenner, who previously worked on OpenAI's Superalignment team focused on ensuring AI models stay aligned with human values, has positioned his fund aggressively in AI-focused investments. The Superalignment team has since been disbanded, but Aschenbrenner's expertise in AI safety and development continues to influence his investment strategy.

Nebius Group's AI Infrastructure Business

Nebius Group builds data centers specifically designed to train AI models and run services like ChatGPT

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. The Dutch neocloud company has demonstrated strong financial performance, reporting a nearly eightfold rise in quarterly revenue earlier this month

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. This explosive revenue growth underscores the increasing demand for specialized AI infrastructure as companies race to deploy large language models and other AI applications.

Market Implications and Future Outlook

The Nebius shares jump put the stock on track to open at its highest level in over two weeks, signaling strong investor confidence

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. The investment marks a vote of confidence in Nebius Group as a key player in the AI infrastructure market, particularly as competition intensifies among providers serving the computational needs of AI development. With Aschenbrenner's deep understanding of AI capabilities and infrastructure requirements from his time at OpenAI, his fund's substantial position suggests he sees significant long-term potential in Nebius's ability to capture market share in this rapidly expanding sector. Investors should watch how Nebius deploys capital to scale its data centers and whether it can maintain its revenue momentum amid growing competition from established cloud providers entering the AI infrastructure space.

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