Arkady Volozhs Dutch Startup Launches Powerful ISEG2 Supercomputer, Ranking 13th Globally

The Dutch tech firm established by Arkady Volozh, the billionaire co-founder of the prominent Russian internet company Yandex, introduced one of the globe’s most advanced supercomputers on Wednesday.

This new system, called ISEG2, made its debut this week ranked 13th on the TOP500 list, the foremost global benchmark for supercomputer capabilities.

“This positions ISEG2 as the most potent commercially available system in Europe and the second most robust supercomputer available anywhere worldwide,” Nebius stated on the platform X.

ISEG2 is located at the Verne Global data center, situated on a former NATO base in Iceland, and it operates solely on hydroelectric and geothermal energy sources.

The supercomputer boasts a peak performance of 338.49 PFlop/s, which is over ten times the capacity of the most powerful Russian alternatives. In comparison, the leading Russian system, Yandex’s Chervonenkis, achieves 29.42 PFlop/s and ranks 79th on the TOP500 list.

Nebius had previously launched its first supercomputer, ISEG, at a repurposed Yandex data center near Helsinki, Finland, which currently holds the 39th position globally.

The company, based in the Netherlands, has its systems attributed to that nation in international rankings.

Nebius intends to extend its supercomputer initiatives to Israel next, having secured a $135 million grant from the Israel Innovation Authority in May to establish one of its systems there.

Volozh moved to Israel from Russia in 2014, and in August 2023, over a year after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, he expressed being “categorically against” the war.

In a January 2025 interview with Bloomberg, he mentioned his delayed response was partly due to efforts to assist over 1,000 Yandex employees wishing to leave Russia and join Nebius.

Volozh noted he engaged a personal security team following President Vladimir Putin’s public comment referring to him as a “talented person” — a statement perceived by many as a potential threat in light of his anti-war position.