OceanPal is establishing an artificial intelligence infrastructure on the Near Protocol.

The Greece-based maritime transportation company OceanPal Inc. (OP) is making a significant move in the crypto world with a 120 million dollar investment round. The company announced that it has established a privacy-focused new subsidiary called SovereignAI, which will operate on the Near Protocol by transitioning to an artificial intelligence and blockchain-based infrastructure.

To bring this new venture to life, OceanPal has completed a private investment in public equity (PIPE) agreement. SovereignAI will provide investors with direct access to the Near Protocol (NEAR) ecosystem, offering a structure through which they can continue their maritime operations. The company reported a 10.4 million dollar net loss in the first half of this year. However, at a time when many institutions are accumulating assets like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) as digital treasury, OceanPal aims to gradually purchase 10% of the NEAR token supply.

Following this important announcement, OceanPal's shares fell by over 20%, dropping to 1.73 dollars. While shares had reached as high as 79 dollars in June, this decline has raised concerns for investors.

OceanPal's Chief Operating Officer David Schwed emphasized that their strategies are not limited to treasury management, stating, “Our goal is to build the infrastructure that will enable user-owned and privacy-centric AI to scale.” The advisory board of the new initiative will be chaired by Illia Polosukhin, a co-founder of the Near Foundation. Notable figures from companies such as OpenAI, Quicknode, and Fabric Ventures will also be part of this board.

This investment is backed by major players including the crypto exchange Kraken, Proximity, and G20 Group. OceanPal's strategic move presents an innovative approach to maritime transportation while also attracting the attention of crypto investors.