Nebius builds GPU debt model as European banks back $775m loan

Nebius has secured $775 million through its inaugural debt facility, using its deployed computing hardware and customer cash flows as collateral. The loan matures on October 31, 2030, carrying a rate of SOFR plus 2.50%, which equates to roughly 6.8% today. Demand for the transaction significantly exceeded the available supply.

The significance of the deal lies in its structure rather than its size. The company is treating GPU hardware the way airlines treat aircraft or telecoms operators treat spectrum, securitising physical assets against long-term revenue contracts. This loan, when paired with the associated customer revenues, fully funds the capital expenditure needed to install the underlying hardware, covering more than 100% of the cost.

By converting an operational asset directly into growth capital, Nebius can fund its expansion without diluting existing shareholders. The market reacted positively to this distinction, pushing the company's stock up 8% on the news. It represents a shift away from relying purely on equity markets or standard corporate loans to fund massive computing hardware requirements.

The involvement of nine lenders from the US, Europe, and Japan demonstrates that major financial institutions now view AI computing infrastructure as a viable asset class for secured lending. European financial institutions played a central role in the arrangement. ABN AMRO, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Crédit Agricole, and ING served as mandated or senior lead arrangers, joining MUFG, Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs.

Nebius possesses the contractual foundations to replicate this financing model at scale. Backing comes from major US tech firms, with Meta committing up to $27 billion in March and Microsoft agreeing to a separate contract worth up to $19.4 billion. Nebius recently delivered the latest planned capacity tranche to Microsoft and remains on schedule, giving it more than $40 billion in contracted revenue from investment-grade customers to support future debt raises.

This capital pipeline directly supports a physical footprint that is expanding across Europe. The firm's European presence began with a Paris AI data centre in 2024, backed by a $1 billion regional investment plan, and has since grown to include facilities in Finland and the UK. COO Ophir Nave said the financing reinforces a "disciplined, diversified approach" spanning owned data centres and asset-light partnerships. The long-term viability of treating AI processors as collateral, however, remains unproven. The model ultimately depends on hardware depreciation and residual value assumptions that no company in this sector has yet been forced to test under stressful market conditions.