"Everything we create is for sale": Volozh on capex growth, demand and Nebius deals
Nebius raised its capital expenditure forecast for this year to $20-25 billion from $16-20 billion
Volozh said demand exceeds available capacity, prompting Nebius to invest in expansion / Photo: X / Nebius
Dutch cloud computing provider Nebius Group, founded by Yandex co-founder Arkady Volozh, has raised its capital expenditure forecast for 2026. The company now plans to spend between $20 billion and $25 billion. In March, Nebius estimated spending for this year at $16-20 billion.
Nebius CEO Arkady Volozh presented the new forecast at a conference call after the first quarter report, linking it to demand growth. Volozh said demand now exceeds available capacity, driving the company's expansion. Here's what he told investors at the conference call:
On rising costs
Volozh: The strong demand for the computing infrastructure that Nebius provides is driving the company to invest more in construction. The increase in the forecast is due to capacity investments that will start coming online in 2027. Nebius expects these investments to make a positive contribution to revenue in the first half of next year.
"We already have clients and commitments for this period. One such client is Meta. We need to invest to fully realize this potential"
Volozh: Nebius now has more than $9 billion in cash. This year, the company raised $2 billion from the world's largest chip developer Nvidia and more than $4 billion through the sale of convertible bonds. Recently, Nebius signed a new contract with Meta for $27 billion. Other options for financing investments include advances from customers, financing against the pledge of assets, loans, etc.
About demand
Volozh: demand is growing by industry. Today, for every graphics processing unit (GPU) that Nebius introduces, there are typically multiple customers claiming it. Nebius is scaling capacity to meet this demand.
New customers from different segments are turning to Nebius to solve their toughest problems. For example, European fintech leader Revolut recently started using Token Factory [a Nebius platform that gives clients access to open source models and the computing power to run them. - Oninvest]. In physical AI, 1X Technologies is using the Nebius cloud platform to build general-purpose robots. In the life sciences, the company's cloud platform allows startups to build more powerful models that accelerate drug development and advance the fight against disease in ways that were previously impossible.
"Outside the technology sector, large companies in industries such as manufacturing, energy, heavy engineering and pharmaceuticals are increasingly engaging with us. The demand is high. Everything we create sells."
On recent takeovers
Volozh: Since the beginning of the year, Nebius has acquired three startups - Tavily, Eigen AI and Clarifai. These startups strengthened Nebius' core offerings and also allowed it to attract experienced engineers and researchers to the team.
"At our core, we are a technology company. We employ the best engineers in artificial intelligence with deep proprietary knowledge at every level of the stack, both hardware and software. We're quickly becoming a magnet for top talent."
Context
In the first quarter of 2026, Nebius reported revenue growth of 684%, to $399 mln, and reported adjusted EBITDA ($129.5 mln), beating forecasts. Adjusted loss increased by 20% ($100.3 mln). In the first quarter, Nebius spent nearly $2.5 billion on GPUs and data center equipment versus $544 million a year ago. The company announced plans to build a data center in Pennsylvania in addition to a facility under construction in Missouri. Nebius also raised its contracted capacity forecast from 3 gigawatts to 4 gigawatts by the end of 2026.
Nebius shares were up 18% during trading in New York on Ma. 13. Over the past year, they have risen more than 400%, and since the beginning of January - more than 130%. According to MarketWatch, of the 17 analysts tracking the company, 12 of them recommend investors to buy its shares and only one - to sell.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
