In this episode of A Beginner’s Guide to AI, host Dietmar Fischer talks with Roman Chernin from Nebius, about how AI democratization is reshaping the enterprise world.
Roman reveals what it really takes to move from prototype LLMs to reliable, scalable AI platforms - and why most companies don’t need to train their own models to harness AI’s potential.
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From his early years at Yandex, where machine learning quietly powered maps and search, to helping Nebius build global AI infrastructure, Roman’s story is a blueprint for how cloud platforms can make AI accessible to everyone.
He explains how Nebius Token Factory enables businesses to deploy AI applications fast, how to navigate the minefield of compliance and cost, and why real success in AI comes from better collaboration and iteration — not from “being a genius.”
🚀 Key Highlights
💡 Quotes from the Episode
“The goal isn’t to build more data centers - it’s to make AI usable for people who aren’t AI experts.”
“You don’t need your own LLM. You need a problem to solve - and the right infrastructure to do it.”
“If you want to scale a system ten times, you don’t fix it - you rewrite it.”
“Compute is becoming the new electricity, but we don’t want to be just a utility company.”
“The real bottleneck isn’t GPUs - it’s making AI usable, compliant, and cost-efficient for real businesses.”
“We can’t forbid AI use; it’s already here. The real challenge is helping society adapt fast enough.”
🧾 Chapters
00:00 Introduction - Welcoming Roman Chernin to the show
00:28 Why AI? Roman’s early journey and Yandex years
01:24 What Nebius does: Building AI infrastructure for builders
03:02 The challenge of scaling AI infrastructure 10× per year
05:06 From utility computing to full-stack AI platforms
07:15 Why developer experience matters for AI growth
09:45 How enterprises move from OpenAI to open-source models
12:10 Compliance, data sovereignty, and enterprise security
14:55 Cost, latency, and optimization challenges in AI scaling
16:50 Which industries are adopting AI fastest
18:40 Democratizing AI for mid-sized businesses
19:35 Nebius Token Factory: Enabling custom AI APIs
22:14 Open-source vs closed models - the real trade-offs
26:03 The U.S. vs. European AI market and regulation
31:20 How governments can drive AI demand (not just infrastructure)
33:58 How AI changes leadership, creativity, and collaboration
37:40 Why iteration beats genius - and how AI accelerates it
38:56 Roman’s personal “wow moment” with AI video generation
40:55 The real risks of AI - and how fast society must adapt
43:35 Final thoughts and where to find Nebius and Roman
Where to Find Roman Chernin and Nebius
Music Credit: “Modern Situations” by Unicorn Heads