Key Takeaways

  • Power Dynamics Demand a Different Playbook: When dealing with a dominant industry player like Nvidia, traditional business development or corporate relationship-building approaches often fall flat due to the sheer imbalance of power.
  • Nebius's Engineering-First Stance: Roman Chernin, co-founder of Nebius, argues that the most effective way for his company to build a strong foundation with Nvidia is by earning the deep, technical respect of Nvidia's own engineering teams.
  • Prove Your Technical Depth: This respect isn't theoretical; it comes from demonstrating irrefutable technical capabilities across hardware and software layers, proving that your team truly understands and can innovate on core infrastructure problems.
  • The Product Speaks Loudest: Chernin emphasizes that Nebius's strategy is to obsessively build and refine their core product. This consistent display of engineering excellence, not networking or lobbying, creates the basis for collaboration.

Your Engineers Are Your Best Ambassadors

Imagine staring down Nvidia, the undisputed king of AI infrastructure. Harry Stebbings, host of 20VC, put it simply to Roman Chernin: “How do you think about the power dynamics in a relationship with Nvidia when they have so much power?” Most founders would think about strategic alliances, executive dinners, or high-level partnerships. Chernin’s answer for Nebius was much sharper, and far more demanding: focus on the engineers.

He cut through the corporate jargon: “We just need to build what we build. We need to build our product. We need to tell our story and then the rest will complement it.” This isn't just about making a good product; it's about making a product so technically sound, so deeply understood by your own team, that it commands respect from the best engineers in the game. It suggests that while others might be seeking a 'deal,' Nebius is seeking a peer-level technical validation.

This approach isn't a shortcut; it's a longer, harder road paved with code and deep technical problem-solving. But it's also, according to Chernin, the only one that truly matters. “The best thing you can do to get respect from Nvidia,” he stated, “if engineers in Nvidia respect your engineers, you will have the right foundation for relations.”

The Language of Demonstrated Competence

So, what does that look like in practice for Nebius? It means repeatedly proving their technical chops. “We managed to prove again and again that we know what we build and we have a strong engineering team and I think that they see it and they respect it,” Chernin explained. This isn't about boasting; it's about performance under pressure, solving complex problems that even Nvidia's engineers would recognize as difficult, and doing so with a level of proficiency that stands out. When your engineers can speak the same technical language, identify similar challenges, and offer novel solutions, a different kind of bond forms.

This extends from bare metal infrastructure all the way up to managed inference, touching every layer where a cutting-edge AI company operates. For Nebius, their full-stack strategy serves as a continuous demonstration of their engineering depth. They don't just consume Nvidia's products; they aim to contribute to the ecosystem with a level of technical rigor that earns admiration.

What to Do With This

Stop pitching. Instead, audit your product for technical depth that would impress the most hardcore engineers in your industry's dominant player. Identify a specific, complex technical challenge where your team's solution could genuinely earn recognition, then focus your resources on delivering it with uncompromising excellence.