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OceanPal Sets Out to Transform AI Sovereignty Through NEAR-Enabled Confidential Cloud

OceanPal Sets Out to Transform AI Sovereignty Through NEAR-Enabled Confidential Cloud

Bitget-RWA2025/10/28 22:14
By:Bitget-RWA

- OceanPal secured $120M PIPE to launch SovereignAI, building NEAR Protocol-powered confidential AI infrastructure. - The investment includes crypto-native firms Kraken/Proximity and advisors Clear Street/Cohen & Company, targeting 10% NEAR token ownership. - Shares fell 22.5% post-announcement, but the move aligns with "universal AI sovereignty" trends through decentralized infrastructure. - OceanPal plans to deploy funds for regulated industry AI services and integrate with Ethereum's ERC-8004 AI agent s

OceanPal Inc. has obtained $120 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) to establish SovereignAI Services LLC, a new subsidiary dedicated to developing AI infrastructure utilizing the

. The shipping company, headquartered in Athens and maintaining its primary focus on dry bulk and tanker shipping, is seeking to become a significant force in both blockchain and artificial intelligence by gradually acquiring up to 10% of NEAR’s token supply, according to a . The deal, finalized in August 2025, saw participation from crypto-focused investors like Kraken, Proximity, and Fabric Ventures, with advisory input from Clear Street LLC and Cohen & Company Capital Markets, as reported by .

This investment signals a major strategic shift for

, which has traditionally operated in the maritime logistics sector. SovereignAI’s objective is to create “blockchain-native, confidential AI-cloud infrastructure” leveraging NVIDIA hardware and the NEAR Protocol—a platform built for scalable, AI-ready decentralized applications—according to details in a . The advisory board for the subsidiary, led by NEAR Foundation co-founder Illia Polosukhin, features prominent figures from finance and crypto, including Richard Muirhead of Fabric Ventures and Lukasz Kaiser from OpenAI, as noted by Cryptopolitan. Sal Ternullo, recently named co-CEO of OceanPal and previously an executive at State Street and KPMG, highlighted that NEAR presents “the most significant asymmetric opportunity among established digital asset projects,” positioning SovereignAI as a public vehicle for investment in the token and its infrastructure, according to Investing.com.

OceanPal Sets Out to Transform AI Sovereignty Through NEAR-Enabled Confidential Cloud image 0

The market’s response to the news was divided. OceanPal’s shares (NASDAQ: OP) dropped by 22.5% in after-hours trading following the announcement, reflecting doubts among investors about the company’s entry into an emerging industry, as reported by Investing.com. Supporters, however, argue that the initiative is in line with the broader movement toward “universal AI sovereignty,” which emphasizes decentralized, user-controlled computing. David Schwed, OceanPal’s chief operating officer and a former Robinhood executive, described the project as being at the “intersection of two major shifts—AI and digital ownership,” utilizing NEAR’s framework to support secure, autonomous agent transactions, according to Cryptopolitan.

OceanPal’s approach involves more than simply holding tokens. The company intends to use the PIPE funding to build AI infrastructure for regulated sectors like finance, healthcare, and media, as mentioned in The Block. This will involve developing confidential AI services on the NEAR Protocol, which enables privacy-focused computation and automated agent interactions, according to Cryptopolitan. The project also plans to connect with Ethereum’s new ERC-8004 standard, which allows AI agents to be created as NFTs and supports open, decentralized networks, as detailed in a

.

This deal highlights a rising trend of established companies expanding into blockchain and AI. By aiming to control 10% of NEAR’s token supply, OceanPal could impact the platform’s governance and liquidity, potentially altering the token’s function in agent-driven commerce, according to Cryptopolitan. The move also illustrates the growing convergence of crypto infrastructure and AI development, as seen in Ethereum’s efforts to become an “app store for AI agents,” a theme explored by Blockworks.

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Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

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