Yandex founder Arkady Volozh is building a cloud service platform for developers to train artificial intelligence models.

Named Nebius Group, the company says its aim is to become a European global leader inAIinfrastructure.

Yandex was a rare Russian tech success story.

Yandex founder launches new Amsterdam-based AI venture after Russia divestment

Volozh says his new venture, which will employ 1,300 people, will house mostly former Yandex employees.

Indeed, the founder described the team of engineers over 1,000 as the companys greatest asset.

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Europes challenge in the global AI race is competing for talent.

T2T

Nebius says it will build technology for technologists, or T2T.

The new business core product will be an AI-centric cloud platform for intense AI workloads.

Linnea Ahlgren

Furthermore, Nebius Group will build three other businesses under individual brands.

One will focus on data for generative AI.

The other is an edtech business in the US reskilling people to work in tech.

The third will develop self-driving technology for cars and delivery robots.

At the end of 2020, Yandex introduced autonomous delivery robots.

In March 2021, the company also launched its own payment service, Yandex Pay.

The EU initially included the Yandex co-founder and CEO in its list of sanctioned Russian businessmen.

When the two parted ways after increasingly souring relations, Sberbank agreed to sell the golden share to Yandex.

There is no such thing as large-scale business in Russia without the authorities say-so.

Lets see what Volozh and 1,000 Yandex AI engineers can build in Europe.

Story byLinnea Ahlgren

Linnea is the senior editor at TNW, having joined in April 2023.

Dabbles in gaming and fitness wearables.

But first, coffee.

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