The operation marks a turning point for Toloka, reinforcing its independence and establishing it as one of the global leaders in data for artificial intelligence.
The technology company Nebius Group (NASDAQ: NBIS) has announced a significant strategic investment in its subsidiary, Toloka, which specializes in data solutions for artificial intelligence. The round was led by Bezos Expeditions, the investment fund of Jeff Bezos, with notable participation from Mikhail Parakhin, current CTO of Shopify.
This deal not only injects capital into one of the most critical areas of AI development—the quality, safety, and alignment of data—but also grants Toloka greater operational and governance independence while Nebius relinquishes majority control over voting decisions, retaining a majority economic stake.
A New Phase of Growth for Toloka
The agreement will enable Toloka to scale rapidly and strengthen its strategic focus in light of the growing global demand for reliable data for AI. As part of the restructuring, Mikhail Parakhin will assume the role of executive chairman of Toloka’s new board, while Olga Megorskaya, founder and CEO, will continue to lead the company and will also join the board.
“Backed by strategic investors who deeply understand the AI ecosystem, we are in an optimal position to accelerate our technological innovations at the intersection of human judgment and AI efficiency,” stated Megorskaya.
Toloka has evolved from a large-scale data labeling platform to a key player for leading laboratories and companies such as Amazon, Anthropic, Microsoft, Recraft, and Shopify, excelling in tasks including security evaluation, red teaming, and ethical validation of AI systems.
Nebius: Incubator of AI Innovation
Arkady Volozh, founder and CEO of Nebius, emphasized the value of the operation:
“Bezos and Parakhin are top-tier allies. This alliance reaffirms that at Nebius, we create companies capable of leading the next wave of global innovation.”
The decision to cede operational control over Toloka serves a dual purpose: to give Toloka more autonomy in its evolution as an independent company, and to allow Nebius to concentrate even more on its core business of cloud infrastructure for AI, which includes server design, data centers, and large-scale GPU clusters.
Financial Implications
Starting from the closure of the operation, Nebius will stop consolidating Toloka’s results in its accounts and will report its stake as an equity investment. The company will provide more details during its next earnings presentation, scheduled for May 20.
A Key Player in the New Value Chain of AI
The investment from Bezos underscores the growing strategic importance of companies specializing in secure, ethical, and scalable data for language models and generative AI. With this operation, Toloka solidifies its position as one of the leading global references in this segment, contributing not only data volume but also scientific rigor and advanced human evaluation mechanisms.
To learn more about Toloka’s roadmap, capabilities, and future vision, you can consult the statement from its CEO at:
👉 https://toloka.ai/blog/toloka-strategic-investment-led-by-bezos-expeditions/
With this operation, the artificial intelligence sector takes another step toward the professionalization and robustness of its data supply chain, a component increasingly critical for the reliability and ethics of future automated systems.
Source: group.nebius.com