If you’ve been following the artificial intelligence (AI) sector over the last year, chances are you’ve come across the AI neocloud firm Nebius Group ( NBIS -5.40%). This company separated from Russian tech giant Yandex and made its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in October. Driven by soaring demand for cloud computing resources, the stock has skyrocketed more than 618% in the past year.
Beyond its primary AI cloud operations, Nebius also has interests in other AI-focused ventures, such as its self-driving vehicle arm Avride, and it has acquired significant stakes in several other AI companies. Notably, Nebius holds a 28% share in a leading AI startup that is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering.
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Another major AI investment
The company in question is ClickHouse, in which Nebius acquired its stake back in 2021, according to official documents. ClickHouse specializes in AI data solutions, offering features such as real-time analytics, machine learning, generative AI, and data warehousing. These tools are used by businesses for purposes like risk assessment, detecting fraud, and analyzing sentiment. ClickHouse’s strength lies in its ability to efficiently store, search, and process vast volumes of data, making it highly versatile.
Thousands of prominent organizations already rely on ClickHouse for their daily operations. For example, grocery delivery service Instacart utilizes ClickHouse as its real-time data platform to make rapid fraud assessments. Instacart also leverages ClickHouse for essential functions like retailer and advertising dashboards, conducting A/B tests to evaluate different content versions, and generating machine learning insights.
During a recent interview, ClickHouse CEO Aaron Katz explained that only a select few tech companies can support the backend requirements of businesses with thousands of users simultaneously running hundreds of thousands of queries on massive datasets. "So, it needs to be able to store that data very efficient and in a cost-effective way. And then it needs to be able to provide lightning-fast query experiences, so sub-second latency over both petabytes of historical data and data that's streaming in," Katz said.
In May, ClickHouse secured $350 million in a series C funding round, giving the company a valuation of $6.35 billion, as reported by Bloomberg. The round was recently expanded to include new investors such as Citi Ventures, Insight Partners, D.E. Shaw Ventures, and several members of the San Francisco 49ers, including Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and Kyle Juszczyk.
In its latest update regarding the extended series C, ClickHouse announced it had surpassed 2,000 customers and had more than quadrupled its annual recurring revenue over the past year. New clients include Hewlett Packard, Cyera, and ShopMonkey, while established customers feature Canva, Harvey, LangChain, Perion, and SonyLIV. The platform is also gaining traction among leading AI firms such as Anthropic and Meta Platforms.
An IPO appears imminent
Although ClickHouse has not yet submitted a registration statement or made any formal IPO announcement, Katz has openly expressed the company’s intention to go public. While many startups opt to remain private for longer, Katz considers himself more traditional, believing that companies should pursue an IPO once their technology and business fundamentals reach a certain scale. "And so, that's the objective here," he added.
Katz’s preference for going public is understandable. He admits to being partial, given his positive experiences with IPOs at previous companies, including his roles at Elastic and earlier at Salesforce, where he served as a "mid-level manager." With the IPO market showing renewed strength—especially for AI firms, which have been highly sought after by investors this year—the timing seems favorable.
Some investors worry about a potential bubble, so this could be an opportune moment to go public while market conditions remain strong. Given the enthusiasm for AI IPOs and ClickHouse’s connection to Nebius, even though the company’s financials haven’t been disclosed, it’s likely that ClickHouse would attract significant investor interest, which would in turn boost the value of Nebius’s stake.
