Nebius Group stock surges as Leopold Aschenbrenner's fund takes $2.6 billion stake

Former OpenAI Employee Backs AI Infrastructure Leader

Nebius Group shares climbed 11% in Thursday trading after Situational Awareness LP, a hedge fund led by former OpenAI employee Leopold Aschenbrenner, disclosed a 5.6% ownership stake in the Dutch AI infrastructure company 1

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. The position, revealed in a regulatory filing late Wednesday, consists of 12.4 million shares valued at nearly $2.6 billion and represents the largest holding in Nebius Group 2

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. The Nebius stock surge pushed shares to a new all-time high of $259.23 during the session, marking the highest level in over two weeks.

Situational Awareness LP's AI Compute Thesis

Leopold Aschenbrenner launched Situational Awareness LP in 2024 on the conviction that rapid advances in artificial intelligence will drive explosive demand for chips, data centers, and compute infrastructure 2

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. Aschenbrenner previously worked on OpenAI's Superalignment team, which focused on ensuring AI systems remain aligned with human values before the team was disbanded 1

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. The fund managed $13.67 billion as of March 31, representing 148% growth from the end of 2025 1

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. The investment in Nebius Group marks a strategic bet on AI compute capacity, where GPU demand for training and inference continues to outpace chip supply.

Record Revenue Growth and Massive Capital Spending Plans

The Amsterdam-based company builds data centers designed to train AI models and run services like ChatGPT 3

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. In the first quarter of 2026, Nebius Group reported consolidated revenue of $399 million, a year-over-year surge of 684%, with the AI Cloud business generating $389.7 million—an 841% jump 2

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. Annualized run-rate revenue hit $1.92 billion by the end of March, while adjusted EBITDA swung sharply into positive territory at $129.5 million. The company has raised its 2026 capital spending target to a range of $20 billion to $25 billion, backed by a $27 billion contract with Meta Platforms and a $19.4 billion deal with Microsoft 2

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What This Means for AI Infrastructure Investors

The high-profile stake from Situational Awareness LP signals growing institutional confidence in Nebius Group as a key player in the AI infrastructure race 1

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. Citigroup carries a $287 price target on the stock, while Citizens JMP sees it at $270—both well above previous trading levels 2

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. With co-founder and Chief Business Officer Roman Chernin set to host a fireside chat at the BofA Securities tech conference on June 3, investor attention remains focused on how the company will deploy its ambitious capital spending plans. The convergence of record-breaking quarterly financials, landmark customer contracts, and backing from a prominent AI-focused fund positions Nebius Group as one of the clearer plays on AI compute capacity in the public market, where demand continues to outstrip supply.