Nasdaq-listed shipping company OceanPal Inc. has announced a $120 million private equity investment (PIPE) in collaboration with the NEAR Foundation to establish a new subsidiary, SovereignAI Services LLC, focused on digital assets and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The investment round included participation from cryptocurrency-focused investors such as Kraken, Proximity, Fabric Ventures, and G20 Group.
Proceeds from the funding will be used to create a digital asset treasury centered on NEAR Protocol, a Layer-1 blockchain designed for scalable and AI-compatible decentralized applications (dApps), and to develop a confidential AI cloud platform leveraging NEAR and Nvidia technologies. SovereignAI aims to target high-demand sectors like finance, healthcare, and media, with plans to acquire at least 10% of NEAR's token supply over the long term through active balance sheet deployment, reinvesting yields into infrastructure rather than passive holding.
Despite the strategic move, OceanPal's stock (OP) plummeted 19.09% to $1.78 in a volatile trading session, reflecting market skepticism. However, the company positions this as a long-term growth strategy, diversifying from its traditional maritime operations while continuing them. NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin will chair SovereignAI's advisory board, which includes experts from OpenAI and Quicknode, and he stated, "We are delighted to have SovereignAI join the NEAR ecosystem. Together, we will build true universal AI sovereignty that will enable user-owned, private, and autonomous AI commerce."
OceanPal has appointed new executives to lead the transformation, including Sal Ternullo as co-CEO and David Schwed as COO, bringing experience from firms like State Street and Galaxy. The initiative emphasizes the convergence of AI and blockchain for secure, regulatory-compliant operations, aiming to make OceanPal a unique public vehicle for exposure to digital infrastructure growth.
