In a bold pivot from bulk shipping to blockchain, OceanPal Inc. (NASDAQ: OP) has dropped anchor in the digital asset world. The company announced a $120 million private investment to fund a new subsidiary, SovereignAI Services LLC, designed to commercialize NEAR Protocol—a blockchain platform built for AI-powered applications and autonomous agent commerce.
This move positions OceanPal as perhaps the first publicly traded shipping company to rebrand itself as an AI infrastructure player. Through SovereignAI, the firm intends to serve as a public gateway for investors seeking exposure to NEAR, the protocol’s native token, and the underlying infrastructure enabling confidential, agentic AI systems.
From Cargo Ships to Code: A Strategic Reinvention
The funds will fuel OceanPal’s digital asset treasury strategy, effectively merging traditional corporate structure with blockchain-native operations. SovereignAI’s goal? To accumulate up to 10% of NEAR’s total token supply over time—an ambitious target that transforms OceanPal from a maritime operator into a strategic AI infrastructure investor.
Unlike passive treasury models used by Bitcoin-holding firms like MicroStrategy, SovereignAI plans to actively build and monetize blockchain infrastructure that supports decentralized, privacy-first AI use cases.
“We believe NEAR presents the greatest asymmetric upside across mature digital asset projects,” said Sal Ternullo, OceanPal’s newly appointed Co-CEO. “We’re aligning with NEAR’s vision of universal AI sovereignty—AI systems that are private, compliant, and user-owned.”
NEAR Protocol: The AI-Ready Blockchain
NEAR Protocol, often overshadowed by Ethereum and Solana in crypto headlines, has quietly been building a tech stack optimized for AI automation and privacy. Its “chain abstraction” architecture enables AI agents to act as independent economic actors—transacting, managing assets, and making autonomous decisions without compromising data sovereignty.
That vision aligns neatly with growing institutional interest in AI governance, compliance, and secure data-sharing—a sweet spot where both Wall Street and Web3 converge.
“SovereignAI is positioned at the convergence of AI and digital ownership,” said David Schwed, OceanPal’s new COO and former Chief Information Security Officer at Robinhood. “We’re building infrastructure that lets users retain control over their AI models and data, at scale.”
A Who’s Who of Blockchain and AI Leadership
Backing from the NEAR Foundation brings credibility and technical muscle. Illia Polosukhin, NEAR’s co-founder (and a former Google AI researcher), will chair SovereignAI’s advisory board alongside a formidable cast:
- Richard Muirhead, Fabric Ventures
- Lukasz Kaiser, OpenAI
- Philippe Sachs, Nscale
- Andy Brown, Sandhill East
- Jackie Kennedy, Quicknode
This roster provides SovereignAI access to some of the most influential figures bridging AI research, blockchain infrastructure, and digital finance.
Market Implications: A New Kind of Public AI Play
OceanPal’s dual identity—as both a shipping firm and an AI infrastructure investor—might seem unorthodox. But it reflects a growing trend among public companies using capital markets to finance decentralized infrastructure, much like early cloud companies used IPOs to fund data center expansion.
If successful, OceanPal’s transformation could signal the emergence of a new asset class: publicly traded AI infrastructure firms built atop blockchain ecosystems. Investors gain regulated market access to digital asset exposure—without the volatility of direct crypto trading.
The Bigger Picture
The timing is no accident. Institutional capital is warming to AI-meets-blockchain ventures, especially those emphasizing privacy and compliance. By embedding NEAR into its treasury and operations, OceanPal is betting that “agentic AI”—self-operating AI agents that can transact and manage assets—will drive the next phase of the digital economy.
Whether that bet pays off depends on execution. But one thing’s clear: OceanPal isn’t drifting. It’s deliberately steering from open seas to open-source AI, charting a course few traditional companies have dared to take.
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