Italy blocks startup deal with Nebius over Yandex connection – Reuters

Nebius was introduced to Israel last month. The company localizes and implements cloud technologies based on Yandex Cloud solutions. At the same time, there is no information about the connection with the Russian company on the startup website. As The Bell (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) wrote, Nebius was led by Roman Chernin, the former head of Yandex’s Geoservices business unit. The publication found that on the general website of Nebius global, Yandex is mentioned as the “roots” to which the platform can be traced. It also states that Nebius operates in the Netherlands, Israel, Germany and Serbia.

According to Reuters, the administration of Italian Prime Minister Giorgi Meloni has vetoed a startup takeover of a local company, Tecnologia Intelligente Srl, precisely because of its ties to Russia’s Yandex. This is the first such case since the politician took office. Meloni invoked the so-called “golden power” rule. It exists in Italy to block unwanted projects in strategically important areas, such as energy or telecommunications.

Under the original plan of the deal, Dutchman Nebius was supposed to take over the small Tecnologia Intelligente Srl, founded by a businessman close to the former Italian prime minister.

According to one of the sources of the publication, Nebius should become part of the new international company after the completion of the restructuring of Yandex.

Last November, the Russian company confirmed plans to separate the national and international business.