Key Takeaways
- OceanPal secures $120M PIPE investment to launch SovereignAI subsidiary focused on NEAR Protocol.
- The strategy aims to accumulate 10% of NEAR token supply for treasury management and infrastructure development.
- SovereignAI will build privacy-first AI infrastructure using NVIDIA technology and NEAR’s blockchain.
Table of Contents
From Shipping to AI Sovereignty
In a dramatic strategic pivot, NASDAQ-listed shipping firm OceanPal Inc. (ticker: OP) has launched SovereignAI through a $120 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal. The new subsidiary will focus on commercializing the NEAR Protocol while building confidential AI-cloud infrastructure.
This move positions OceanPal to become potentially the premier public investment vehicle to gain exposure to NEAR tokens, with ambitions to eventually acquire up to 10% of the total token supply over time, representing one of the most significant corporate treasury strategies in the crypto space.
Read also: Autonomous Agentic Internet: PayPal & General Catalyst Bet $18M on Kite’s Innovative AIR Platform
Building Privacy-First AI Infrastructure
SovereignAI is not just a model for passive token accumulation but a platform for building what SovereignAI illustrates as “blockchain-native, confidential AI-cloud infrastructure,” using NVIDIA technology. The platform plans to use the AI architecture built on NEAR Protocol to facilitate what the firm calls “agentic commerce”, where the AI agents act as independent economic actors with the ability to transact, manage assets, and make automated decisions, all while preserving the user’s privacy and data governance.
Read also: Nvidia Bets $5B on Intel to Forge AI Infrastructure Alliance – Stock Surge 23%
Institutional Backing and Expert Leadership
The ambitious SovereignAI subsidiary venture has attracted support from some of the biggest crypto-native investors, including Kraken, Fabric Ventures, and Proximity Labs. OceanPal is represented by an impressive advisory board chaired by NEAR Foundation CEO Illia Polosukhin, alongside OpenAI’s Lukasz Kaiser and other industry veterans.
This institutional backing suggests continuously growing confidence in the convergence of AI and blockchain technology, particularly for privacy-sensitive applications in regulated sectors like finance and healthcare.
FAQs
How will the OceanPal SovereignAI use the NEAR Protocol?
The OceanPal platform will use NEAR’s AI-optimized blockchain for privacy-preserving computations, enabling autonomous AI agents to conduct transactions and manage assets, all while maintaining user data sovereignty and regulatory compliance.
What is a PIPE investment?
A Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) allows corporations to sell shares at a discount to private investors. In this case, OceanPal raised $120 million from strategic investors to fund its SovereignAI subsidiary and NEAR token acquisition strategy.
Will OceanPal continue its shipping operations?
Yes, the company confirmed it will continue operating its dry bulk vessels and product tankers separately while developing SovereignAI as a wholly-owned subsidiary focused on blockchain and AI infrastructure.
For more AI Infrastructure stories, read: OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank Expand Stargate AI Data Centers to 5 New Sites
