Russian Tech Guru Arkady Volozh to Build New AI Powerhouse
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Loading... - Freddie Watson
- 24 Jul 2024
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After two and a half years of separation from Yandex and fighting to lift personal sanctions, Arkady Volozh, the founder and former CEO of Russia’s “Google,” is starting afresh.
One of Russia’s longest-running corporate sagas concluded when Yandex NV, the Dutch company founded by Volozh, sold all its Russian assets to Russian Yandex, finalizing Volozh’s exit from Russia. The deal was completed on July 16, with Volozh walking away with $2.5 billion, which he plans to invest in his new venture, Nebius Group. This new enterprise focuses on four main areas:
1. Nebius Cloud Business, Nebius AI
2. Toloka AI: A data partner for all stages of generative AI development, from training to evaluation.
3. TripleTen: A leading edtech player in the US and other markets, re-skilling people for careers in tech.
4. Avride: A team developing autonomous driving technology for self-driving cars and delivery robots.
Volozh, along with the Yandex managers and developers who left Russia with him, aims to build a new business that could potentially become as successful as Yandex.
Difficult Negotiations and Personal Sanctions
In his first interview since the deal closed, Volozh described the two-year-long divorce negotiations with Yandex as challenging. He was personally sanctioned by the EU, but those sanctions were eventually lifted after he openly condemned Putin’s war with Ukraine. Upon the deal’s announcement, Volozh expressed his relief and optimism in a message to friends, saying he and his team were “free and with money” to start anew, referring to the new venture as a “new baby company.”
Financials and Strategy
Volozh received about $2.5 billion from the sale of Yandex NV to Russian buyers. Former finance minister and reform architect Alexey Kudrin confirmed he would continue as an advisor to Yandex, which retains about 95% of its value prior to the breakup. Volozh plans to use part of his payout to buy out investors unwilling to remain in Nebius Group, which retains its NASDAQ listing, where trading is expected to resume soon.
Nebius aims to be the primary infrastructure for AI startups, which require significant computing power that is hard to obtain from major players like Microsoft Azure or AWS. According to Volozh, infrastructure is a significant bottleneck in the industry due to shortages in data centers and electricity.
Volozh will personally lead Nebius as CEO, with Roman Chernin, the current head, becoming the commercial director. The company will be headquartered in Amsterdam, where it also has its main R&D center.
Arkady Volozh’s return marks a significant development in the AI and tech industry, with his new venture, Nebius Group, poised to play a crucial role in the sector. With substantial funding and a clear vision, Volozh aims to recreate the success he achieved with Yandex on a global scale.
