OceanPal Ltd. (NASDAQ: OP) has announced the successful completion of a $120 million strategic offering aimed at launching SovereignAI, an artificial intelligence infrastructure project built on blockchain technology. In partnership with the NEAR Foundation, the initiative will also include a digital asset treasury designed to integrate tokenized financial systems into real-world maritime and logistics operations.
A Historic Move Into Blockchain and AI Integration
The $120 million capital raise marks OceanPal’s official entry into the digital asset economy, representing one of the first large-scale moves by a publicly traded shipping firm into Web3 and AI technologies.
The company confirmed that the funds will be directed toward developing SovereignAI, a hybrid AI–blockchain framework enabling sovereign-level data models, predictive analytics, and smart-contract automation for global logistics and trade.
OceanPal’s partnership with the NEAR Foundation, the organization behind the NEAR Protocol, is designed to combine decentralized computing with AI-driven decision-making to optimize efficiency in global commerce.
NEAR Foundation Partnership: Scaling AI on Blockchain
The collaboration will leverage NEAR’s high-throughput, carbon-neutral blockchain to support AI model execution and secure data management. NEAR’s infrastructure will underpin SovereignAI’s digital asset treasury, which will manage a portfolio of tokenized assets, stablecoins, and decentralized financial instruments.
The treasury will serve as a liquidity and governance backbone for the SovereignAI ecosystem, enabling cross-border settlement, automated compliance, and tokenized value transfer between enterprises and institutions.
Institutional Momentum Behind Digital Treasury Adoption
The digital asset treasury initiative is part of a growing trend among traditional corporations seeking on-chain diversification. Similar to MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin treasury model, OceanPal’s move signals a shift in corporate liquidity management, as firms begin to store, deploy, and yield crypto-denominated assets in parallel to fiat reserves.
Market observers view this as a major validation of NEAR’s enterprise potential, positioning the protocol as a leader in AI-blockchain convergence an area expected to exceed $1 trillion in market value by 2030.
Market Impact and Investor Outlook
Following the announcement, OceanPal’s stock (OP) rose 11.6% in after-hours trading, reflecting investor enthusiasm over the strategic pivot. Analysts noted that the firm’s entry into AI and blockchain aligns with broader market themes of digital transformation, tokenized assets, and AI-driven infrastructure financing.
If successful, SovereignAI could establish OceanPal as a first mover in decentralized AI logistics, combining maritime trade expertise with cutting-edge digital asset strategies.
FAQs
1. What is SovereignAI?
SovereignAI is an AI infrastructure platform built by OceanPal and powered by the NEAR blockchain, enabling intelligent automation across trade, logistics, and financial operations.
2. How much did OceanPal raise?
OceanPal closed a $120 million offering to fund the development of SovereignAI and its digital asset treasury.
3. What role does the NEAR Foundation play?
The NEAR Foundation will provide blockchain infrastructure, governance tooling, and cross-chain interoperability for SovereignAI.
4. Why is this significant?
It marks one of the first integrations of AI, blockchain, and real-world logistics by a publicly traded company, showcasing the merging of digital assets with traditional industries.