Nvidia-backed Nebius secures $3.5 billion in Citi financing to expand AI data centers and GPU capacity

Nickie Louise Posted On October 22, 2026

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The AI cloud provider secures fresh financing to accelerate its global expansion, supported by more than $40 billion in long-term customer contracts.

Nvidia-backed AI cloud provider Nebius Group has secured a $3.5 billion financing facility from Citigroup to build more data centers and purchase GPUs, giving the Amsterdam-based company fresh capital to expand its computing infrastructure as demand for artificial intelligence continues to strain available capacity.

The financing deal, announced Thursday, comes as AI infrastructure companies race to secure the capital needed to construct massive computing facilities and deploy thousands of Nvidia chips. Nebius plans to use the proceeds for data center development, GPU purchases, and general corporate expenses.

The agreement gives Nebius access to a $3.5 billion senior secured facility with a 364-day maturity. Interest initially runs at Term SOFR plus 2.75 percentage points, with the spread increasing to a maximum of 3.50 percentage points, subject to other adjustments. Citi served as the mandated lead arranger, agent, and security agent.

The financing comes at a pivotal moment for Nebius, which has emerged as a prominent player in the fast-growing market for specialized AI cloud computing. The company competes with providers such as CoreWeave, offering access to high-performance GPUs that developers and enterprises need to train and run AI models.

Unlike traditional cloud providers offering a broad range of enterprise services, these so-called neocloud companies focus heavily on infrastructure built for demanding AI workloads.

Nebius taps Citi as $40 billion in AI contracts fuels expansion

Nebius said the new financing strengthens its ability to manage near-term construction projects without committing immediately to another large, longer-term capital raise.

The company has more than $40 billion in long-term customer commitments, a substantial source of potential future revenue that could support additional borrowing.

Ophir Nave, chief operating officer of Nebius, said the company remains focused on matching its financing decisions with the timing of its infrastructure investments.

“We continue to execute our funding strategy as planned, and are pleased to have secured this financing from a leading global financial institution. This is a result of our disciplined approach to managing our balance sheet to fund our portfolio of projects, and once again demonstrates our ability to choose when and how we raise capital to support our growth.”

Nave added that Nebius still has several financing options available, including borrowing backed by contracted revenue from investment-grade customers.

The new Citi arrangement follows an earlier $775 million senior secured debt facility announced in July. In August, Nebius completed a $5.75 billion convertible notes offering, underscoring the enormous capital requirements facing companies constructing AI infrastructure.

The distinction matters. Customer contracts provide revenue visibility, but data centers require enormous upfront investments in land, electrical systems, cooling infrastructure, and expensive GPUs before those contracts can generate their full expected returns.

Nebius must balance the urgency of delivering new computing capacity against the cost of financing that construction.

Nvidia’s growing bet on Nebius reflects the AI infrastructure race

The latest financing comes three months after Nvidia disclosed a 9.3% beneficial ownership stake in Nebius in July, following a $2 billion investment announced earlier in 2026.

The investment deepened the relationship between the world’s leading AI chip supplier and a cloud infrastructure company that depends heavily on Nvidia hardware.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has pointed to the financing demands facing neocloud providers, which must secure outside capital to expand capacity for customers. Nvidia has supported infrastructure projects through investments and commercial agreements, but that does not mean it directly finances every expansion undertaken by its partners.

During Nvidia’s August earnings call, the company explained that independent lenders still evaluate neocloud financing deals on their own merits.

Nebius traces its roots to Yandex, the Russian technology giant whose former chief executive, Arkady Volozh, helped transform the business into an Amsterdam-headquartered AI infrastructure company following a corporate restructuring.

Listed on Nasdaq under the ticker NBIS, Nebius now provides computing infrastructure for startups and established enterprises developing AI products and services.

For Nebius, the $3.5 billion Citi facility provides another source of capital at a time when access to computing capacity has become a major competitive advantage.

Yet the deal points to a larger challenge facing the AI industry. Billions of dollars in customer contracts do not automatically translate into available computing capacity. Providers still need financing, hardware, electricity, and operational facilities to meet their commitments.

The next stage of the AI boom may depend just as much on which companies can finance and deliver their infrastructure as on which companies can build the most advanced models.