Nebius secured a $3.5 billion credit facility from Citi for AI data centers

Nebius Group, the AI cloud provider, has secured a $3.5 billion senior secured financing facility from Citi to keep expanding its AI infrastructure. The money will go toward data center development, GPU purchases and general corporate purposes.

The facility runs for 364 days and initially carries interest at the Term SOFR benchmark plus 2.75% a year, with the spread able to rise to a maximum of 3.50%. That makes it closer to a bridge than permanent funding. Nebius says it is part of a broader plan to diversify its sources of capital and keep flexibility over when and how it raises longer term money.

Nebius points to several other levers. Its funding base includes customer prepayments and operating cash flow, and it is looking at asset backed financing supported by long term customer contracts. The company says it has more than $40 billion of investment grade customer commitments under long term deals, and its COO Ophir Nave named Microsoft and Meta among those customers.

The timing is notable. The deal arrived just as investors were questioning the cost of financing AI infrastructure after bonds of rival neocloud CoreWeave fell. One report says Nebius shares dropped about 7% on the day of the announcement.

Why it matters for builders: neoclouds such as Nebius and CoreWeave are a major source of GPU capacity outside the big three clouds, often at lower prices. Their ability to borrow decides how much capacity they can bring online and how stable that capacity is. Debt markets turning cautious would show up as tighter supply and higher prices for rented GPUs.

What's next: watch how Nebius refinances before the facility comes due, whether it closes asset backed deals against its customer contracts, and how credit markets treat other neoclouds raising money.

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