Greek shipowner OceanPal has taken a major step outside traditional shipping, unveiling a new subsidiary focused on artificial intelligence and blockchain.
The Nasdaq-listed bulker and tanker owner said it has raised $120m through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal to launch SovereignAI, a new digital venture aimed at commercialising the NEAR Protocol and developing confidential AI-cloud infrastructure powered by NVIDIA technology.
In partnership with the NEAR Foundation, SovereignAI plans to build blockchain-native infrastructure designed for “universal AI sovereignty” — a model where AI systems can operate independently and securely across decentralised networks. The venture intends to acquire up to 10% of NEAR’s token supply as part of a broader crypto treasury management strategy.
The funds raised will support the development of infrastructure, token accumulation, and working capital for the initiative. OceanPal said SovereignAI represents an “evolution in treasury management,” shifting from passive investment to active participation in AI infrastructure and decentralized technology.
“This is a public company launching as an active, strategic partner with the NEAR Foundation to advance a shared vision of universal AI sovereignty,” said Sal Ternullo, OceanPal’s newly appointed co-CEO and former State Street executive. “We plan to use this decentralised, confidential compute infrastructure to meet the growing demand for privacy-first, regulatory-compliant AI across industries like finance, healthcare, and media.”
Ternullo is joined by David Schwed as COO, who previously served as chief information security officer at Robinhood. “Our strategy goes beyond treasury management to actively build infrastructure enabling user-owned, privacy-preserving AI at scale,” Schwed said.
SovereignAI’s advisory board will be chaired by Illia Polosukhin, CEO and co-founder of the NEAR Foundation, alongside figures from OpenAI, Fabric Ventures, and Quicknode. The transaction was supported by crypto investors including Kraken, Fabric Ventures, G20 Group, and Proximity.
OceanPal, a spinoff of Semiramis Paliou-led Diana Shipping, said it will continue operating its fleet of dry bulk and product tankers while developing SovereignAI as a separate arm focused on digital innovation.
