AI cloud infrastructure provider Nebius has acquired Israeli artificial intelligence startup Inferize in a transaction estimated at between $100 million and $150 million. Nebius, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker NBIS, is led by Arkady Volozh. The company has not disclosed the precise financial terms of the deal.

Guy Bortnikov and Lior Gorbonos founded Inferize in January 2026. The co-founders previously worked together at Granulate, an infrastructure optimization company acquired by Intel in 2022. Inferize operated largely in stealth mode and had a team of 17 people based in Tel Aviv when the acquisition was completed, approximately 10 months after its founding.

The startup developed technology intended to reduce GPU downtime during AI model launches and traffic surges. AI models must load their weights before they can process requests, a stage known as a cold start. During initialization, GPU resources can remain idle while new instances start. Similar inefficiencies can arise when model weights are refreshed during processes such as reinforcement learning.

Reducing GPU downtime

AI infrastructure operators face a trade-off between maintaining spare GPU capacity for sudden demand and accepting the cost of underused computing resources. Operating with less excess capacity can reduce costs but may lead to slower responses when workloads increase unexpectedly. For a provider whose business is selling AI compute, closing that gap bears directly on the cost base of its core offering.

Inferize’s technology is designed to adjust capacity in line with actual usage patterns. The approach is intended to improve GPU utilization and reduce operating costs per request. The team produced a working prototype three months after the company was founded.

“Maintaining idle GPUs represents the cost of preparedness for fluctuating demand,” Bortnikov, Inferize’s CEO, said. He described eliminating that inefficiency as the company’s central mission.

Market observers estimate the acquisition value at between $100 million and $150 million, although Nebius has not confirmed the figure.

Nebius expands its Israeli operations

The transaction is Nebius’s second Israeli acquisition within several months. The company previously agreed to purchase Tavily for $275 million upfront, with total consideration potentially reaching $400 million depending on the achievement of specified milestones. The Tavily transaction was described as an earlier 2025 purchase and was also announced in February.

Tavily developed search infrastructure for AI agents, which Nebius plans to integrate into its cloud ecosystem. Nebius also held preliminary discussions about acquiring AI21 earlier this year, but those talks ended without a transaction. The companies instead formed a commercial partnership. AI21 later reduced its workforce by more than 60% to focus on its Maestro offering.

Nebius is also expanding its physical infrastructure in Israel. The company has secured data center capacity agreements and won a contract to build a national AI supercomputer. Planned infrastructure locations include Modi’in, Masmiyya, and Beit Shemesh.

Shahar Tzafrir, managing partner at TLV Partners, which participated in Inferize’s seed funding, commented on the acquisition. “Our relationship with the team predated this venture through our Granulate investment,” Tzafrir said. He described finding a team with such advanced technical capabilities as “extraordinarily uncommon.”

Inferize will be integrated into Nebius Token Factory, the company’s managed inference service. The acquisition will join technologies already included in the platform, including Eigen AI and selected members of Clarifai’s engineering organization. Together with Tavily’s search infrastructure, which is slated for Nebius’s cloud ecosystem, the company’s recent Israeli acquisitions are converging on its core cloud and inference products.

Blockonomi source

Official acquisition announcement