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Nebius lands $3.5B Citi debt facility to fund AI data-center buildout

What's the deal? Nebius, an Amsterdam-based AI cloud provider, has secured a $3.5 billion senior secured financing facility from Citi. The company said the round, announced on October 22, will support its global capacity build-out.

Why now? The facility arrives just two months after Nebius closed a $5.75 billion convertible-note offering. It shows how fast AI-cloud providers are stacking financing to fund data-center and GPU expansion.

By the numbers: The deal ranks in the top 1% of 69 all-time post-IPO debt rounds raised by AI companies in the Netherlands, making it the largest in that group. Nebius says long-term investment-grade customer commitments now exceed $40 billion.

What's the endgame? The 364-day secured loan adds near-term capital without another immediate equity raise. Citi said the facility "provides access to capital at attractive rates to support Nebius's global capacity build-out."

What could go wrong? The loan's short maturity makes refinancing and execution key risks. The buildout cost and debt burden are under sharper scrutiny; Reuters recently reported rising investor concern over heavily indebted rival CoreWeave.

The signal: AI-cloud firms are layering large debt facilities to keep pace with demand, but the Citi deal is no sign the sector's funding risks have faded. Nebius's $40 billion in customer commitments could support future asset-backed borrowing — if it can execute.

Read more: bbx.com

Image credit: cbowns

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