Reflection AI secures $1 billion compute deal with Nebius

Reflection AI, a US-based startup developing open-source artificial intelligence models, has entered into a $1 billion agreement with European infrastructure firm Nebius to access high-performance computing resources. The deal, first reported by TechCrunch on 14 July 2026, grants Reflection access to Nvidia’s latest chips through Nebius, which was formerly the international arm of Russian tech giant Yandex.

This agreement follows a similar arrangement signed by Reflection with SpaceX just a few weeks prior, highlighting the startup’s aggressive strategy to secure sufficient compute capacity. The move mirrors a broader industry trend as AI firms race to acquire the processing power required to train and deploy increasingly complex models.

Founded in 2024 by two former Google DeepMind researchers, Reflection AI is currently valued at $8 billion. The company has raised close to $2.6 billion in funding from a roster of prominent backers, including Nvidia, Sequoia Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Nvidia also recently provided Reflection with a separate $2 billion investment.

The deal occurs against a backdrop of growing mainstream interest in open-source AI, driven by data retention concerns regarding closed-source models and the release of more capable open models from Chinese counterparts. Additionally, recent government intervention, including pressure from the Trump administration on Anthropic and OpenAI to restrict their most powerful models, has raised concerns about potential access restrictions to proprietary AI technologies.

Nebius has established itself as a major player in the infrastructure space, having signed a five-year infrastructure deal with Meta worth up to $27 billion and a multi-year agreement with Microsoft worth up to $19.4 billion last year. TechCrunch has reached out to both Reflection and Nebius for further comment on the terms of the agreement.