Nasdaq-listed shipping company OceanPal announced that it has completed a $120 million private equity investment (PIPE) in collaboration with NEAR to establish a subsidiary, SovereignAI Services LLC, focused on developing digital assets and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
According to the company's statement, cryptocurrency-focused investors such as Kraken, Proximity, Fabric Ventures, and G20 Group also participated in the investment round along with the NEAR Foundation.
Proceeds will be used to create a digital asset treasury centered on NEAR Protocol and develop a confidential AI cloud platform powered by NEAR and Nvidia technologies. NEAR Protocol is a Layer-1 blockchain platform designed for scalable and AI-compatible decentralized applications (dApps).
The startup, SovereignAI, aims to position OceanPal as an investment vehicle that provides access to both the NEAR token and the AI infrastructure that enables autonomous vehicle trading. The company plans to acquire at least 10% of the NEAR token supply over the long term.
“We are delighted to have SovereignAI join the NEAR ecosystem,” Polosukhin said. “Together, we will build true universal AI sovereignty that will enable user-owned, private, and autonomous AI commerce.”
*This is not investment advice.
