OceanPal Finalizes $120 Million PIPE to Build NEAR Protocol AI Treasury
Nasdaq-listed OceanPal has completed a $120M private equity deal to launch a NEAR-based AI treasury, marking a major non-crypto corporate move into blockchain assets.
In an official press release, Nasdaq-listed OceanPal Inc. announced it has completed a $120 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) to launch a NEAR corporate treasury. The global shipping company is establishing SovereignAI, a wholly owned subsidiary developing confidential AI cloud services on the NEAR Protocol blockchain. SovereignAI aims to acquire 10% of NEAR tokens, positioning itself as the first public-market vehicle dedicated to NEAR-based AI infrastructure. The initiative is backed by Kraken, Fabric Ventures, Proximity, and G20 Group, with advisory leadership from Near Foundation co-founder Illia Polosukhin and figures from OpenAI and Quicknode. OceanPal will maintain its shipping operations, despite reporting a $10.4 million first-half net loss and seeing its shares fall over 20% to $1.73 following the announcement.
- PIPE (Private Investment in Public Equity): A financing method where investors buy stock directly from a public company at a negotiated price, often accompanied by warrants.
- NEAR Protocol: A decentralized application platform using sharded proof-of-stake blockchain architecture, designed for scalability and developer usability.