Nebius Shares Surge 33% on AI21 Labs Deal Talks

Shares of Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ: NBIS) surged more than 33 percent over the past week, reaching an opening price of 144.97 on Friday, as reports emerged of the company's discussions to acquire Israeli artificial intelligence startup AI21 Labs and fresh analyst coverage highlighted its expanding role in AI infrastructure. The Amsterdam-based technology firm, which specializes in AI-centric cloud platforms and data centers, has seen its stock climb over 430 percent in the past year amid booming demand for GPU-powered computing.

The potential acquisition of AI21 Labs, valued between 2 billion and 3 billion dollars, follows the collapse of earlier merger talks between the startup and Nvidia Corp. AI21, founded in 2017, focuses on enterprise AI tools, including large language models and productivity solutions, generating an estimated 50 million dollars in annual revenue with about 200 employees. According to reports from The Information and Calcalist, AI21's chairman, Amnon Shashua, had previously indicated the company was exploring strategic options with multiple buyers after advanced negotiations with Nvidia fell through. Nebius, which operates Nebius AI Cloud for AI...