SovereignAI:

OwnyourAIfuture

Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth

Authors

Global

DavidWood

SeniorManagingDirector–GlobalTechnologyConsultingLead,

GlobalSovereignAILead

BryanRich

SeniorManagingDirector–GlobalAILead–Health,PublicServices

andDefense

SuryaMukherjee

SeniorPrincipal,SovereignAIGlobalResearchLead

Europe,MiddleEast,Africa

MauroMacchi

CEO–Europe,MiddleEastandAfrica(EMEA)

MauroCapo

ManagingDirector–Digital

SovereigntyLead–Europe,MiddleEastandAfrica(EMEA)

AsiaPacific

KunalShah

ManagingDirector–SovereignAILead–AsiaPacific

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth2

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth3

Introduction

Artificialintelligencehasmovedbeyondbeinga

technologicalmarvel.Ithasbecomethefoundationfor

nationalcompetitivenessandbusinesssurvival.Yetits

foundations—models,computingpoweranddata—are

concentratedinafewhands.In2024,nearly70%of

leadingAImodelsoriginatedintheUnitedStatesand

anotherquarterinChina1.Theresultisalevelof

dependenceforsomecountriesthatraisesimportant

questionsaboutresilience,competitivenessandlong-terminnovation.Thispathtoriskmitigationandresiliencealsorevealsagrowthopportunity:SovereignAI.

Thegoodnews?Onlyone-thirdofanorganization’sAI

workloadsneedtobesovereign.Workingwithamixof

globalandlocalprovidersleadstomoreopportunitiesforinnovationandgrowth.

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth4

Introduction

SovereignAIreferstoacountry’sabilitytoindependentlydevelop

anddeployAIbyrelyingonitsowninfrastructure,data,modelsand

talent.Thisenablesacountryto

fosterinnovation,driveeconomicgrowthandadvancestrategic

goals—whileretainingfullcontrolovertheentireAIlifecycle.

SovereignAIisnotaboutisolationismorevery

nation/companybuildingtheentireAIstackfromscratch—veryfewcan.It’saboutinteroperabilityonone’sownterms.

Thegoalistomaketechnologicalchoicesthatareflexibleandsecureandcreateafit-for-purposeAIstackthatblendsglobalandlocalcomponents,eachgovernedbytherightlevelof

oversightdependingontheusecaseandnationalpriorities.

SovereigntyallowscountriesandenterprisestocreateandparticipateinnewtrustedAIecosystemsandbuildsecurewaystosharedata

whilehedgingagainstgeopoliticalriskandstrengtheningresilience.Itfuelslocalindustrygrowth,fostersself-relianceandacceleratesAI-

ledeconomicexpansion.Inessence,sovereignAIturnsstrategicvulnerabilityintoanengineforinnovation,competitivenessandnation-buildingmeasuredthroughGDPexpansion.

Introduction

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth5

Ongoinggeopoliticaluncertaintiesareincreasingconcerns

thatrelyingheavilyonalimitednumberofprovidersmay

introducevulnerabilitiesintosupplychains,potentially

affectinginnovationandnationalinterests.Proprietarymodelsmayembedculturalorregulatorybiasesmisalignedwithlocalnorms.Mostcritically,dataandcomputesovereignty

determinewhocapturesthemajorityofthevaluefromAI

innovation.Fornations,itcandefineeconomicgrowthandincreasecontroloverpublicinfrastructure;forenterprises,itcanacceleratecompetitiveadvantageandexpandprofit

pools.

Asaresult,signsofarapidlyexpandingdemandforsovereignAIareeverywhere.Oursurveyofalmost2,000businessand

governmentleadersacross28countriesfoundthat61%arenowmorelikelytoseeksovereigntechnologysolutionsasgeopoliticalrisksriseandastheeconomicvalueassociatedwithAIisabundantlyclear(seeFigure1).

Analystsofferdifferingestimatesofthetotalopportunityas

themarketevolvesandoverlapswithadjacentsectors—but

momentumisclearlybuilding.Oppenheimer’sEquityResearchfirmputsthepotentialsovereignAIinfrastructureopportunityat$1.5trillion,including$120billioninEurope2.AccordingtoGartner?,“by2027,35%ofcountrieswillbelockedinto

region-specificAIplatformsusingproprietarycontextual

data.”Additionally,by2028,65%ofgovernmentsworldwidewilladdsometechnologicalsovereigntyrulestoimprovetheirindependenceandprotectthemfromoutsideregulators3.

Figure1:Geopoliticalturmoilignitestheracefortechsovereignty

Q:Inlightoftherecentgeopoliticalturmoil—includingtariffs,tradetensions,andsovereigntydebates—howhasyourorganization’sattitudechangedtowardstechnologieswithsovereigncapabilities?

50%

Morelikely

toadopt

40%

No

change

30%

Significantlymorelikelytoadopt

20%

41%

31%

Lesslikelytoadopt

20%

10%

Significantlylesslikelytoadopt

6%

2%

0%

Source:AccentureSovereignAIsurvey,July-August2025,N=1,928

Introduction

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth6

Theracetocreatesovereignsolutionsprovidesopportunitiesforbothglobalcloudprovidersandlocalsupplierstooffercloud-

basedinfrastructure,data,cybersecurityandAImodels.For

companies,itcreatesatrustedstackthatincentivizesregional

industryandcross-industrycollaborationanddatamonetization.Fornations,sovereignAIalsopresentsanopportunityto

empowerpeopleandsafeguardtheirrights,therebyenablingsystemsthatreflectlocallanguage,cultureandvalues.Itgivescitizensrecourseifalgorithmsmisstepandallowslocal

institutionstocapturemoreofthevalue.Therealityisthat

sovereignAIturnsAIfromsomethingimposedonpeopleintosomethingbuiltforthem.

NowonderthatmostnationsgloballyareembeddingsovereigntyintotheirAIstrategies.FromSwitzerland’scompliantcloud4andtheEU’sAIContinentActionPlan,India’sSovereignAIplan5,to

therecentSaudiArabia’sHUMAINinitiative6,theshiftis

unmistakable:SovereignAIisnowadefiningpillarofglobal

digitalstrategy.Ontheenterpriseside,respondents

overwhelminglyseegovernmentsasakeycatalyst:73%say

governments,statesorinstitutionsliketheEUhaveakeyroletoplayinincreasingdigitalandAIsovereignty—throughregulation,subsidiesorinvestments.

So,whatnow?Companiesthatintendtoexploittheemerging

opportunitiescreatedbysovereignAIaremovingfast,thinking

bigandplayingbothoffenseanddefense.Basedonourresearchandworkwithleadingorganizations,fourimperativesseparate

leadersfromtherest.

Theseleaders:

1.MakesovereigntyaCEO-ledprioritytoalignAIstrategywithenterpriseresilience,growthandgeopoliticalrealities

2.Reframesovereigntyasasourceofvaluecreation,notjustriskmitigationorcompliance

3.Buildhybridecosystemsthatcombinelocaltrustwithglobalinnovationandscale

4.ArchitectAIensuringflexibilityacrossinfrastructure,dataandmodels

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth7

Imperative

01

CEOOwnership:

MakesovereignAIleadership’snewpowerplay

WhenNVIDIA’schiefexecutiveJensen

HuangstoodbesideDenmark’skingin

CopenhagenlastOctoberandswitchedonthecountry’sfirstAIsupercomputer,the

messagewasunmistakable:TheraceforAIsovereigntyhasbegun.Andit’snolongerjustamatterforgovernments—it’saCEOandboard-levelconcern.

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth8

Imperative1|CEOOwnership:MakesovereignAIleadership’snewpowerplay

Whyitmatters:

SovereignAIdecideswhohasoversightoverdata,whoshapes

marketsandwhowritestherulesofdigitalengagement.It

influencestrust,growthandgeopolitics.That’swhythestrategy

muststartatthetop.Themoreregulatedtheindustry,thehigherthestakes.Infinancialservices,sovereigntydetermineswho

controlstransactiondata,tradingmodelsandcustomer

identities—coreassetsthatdefinecompetitiveadvantageand

trust.Inhealthcareandlifesciences,itgovernsaccesstopatientrecords,genomicdata,andclinicalmodels—areasboundbystrictregulationandnationaloversight.Indefenseandcritical

infrastructure,itdictateswhetherAIsystemscansafelyoperateonsovereigncompute,freefromforeigndependenciesor

interference.Bycontrast,sectorssuchasretail,mediaand

consumerservicesfacefewersovereigntyconstraints,thougheventhere,customerprofilingdataandrecommendation

modelsraisegrowingconcernsaboutcontrolandcompliance.

Takeaction:

Yettoday,only15%oforganizationshavemadeAIsovereigntya

CEOorboard-levelconcern(Figure2).Thisisacriticalblindspot.Withoutexecutiveownership,sovereigntyrisksbecominganothercomplianceboxtotick—ratherthanaleverofdifferentiationandvaluecreation.Governmentscanleadbyexample—creatingrolessuchasanAISovereigntyOfficerinthepublicsectortosignaltheimportanceofexecutiveownershipandencouragebusinessestofollowsuit.Ourresearchshowsthat20%ofgovernmentsoften

haveaboardlevel/seniorlevelheadforsovereignAI.

Top-levelownershipisnon-negotiable.Herearethethreedecisiveactions.

1.Picksuppliersbasedoncomplexgeopoliticsandresilience:

Thequestionisnolongerwhethertouseglobalplayers

contributingtotheAIsupplychain.Itiswhere,whenand

howtobestassemblethesetechnologiestocaptureand

retainthemostvalue.ThesearenotIT-leveldecisions.Theyinvolveweighinginnovationspeedagainstgeopoliticalrisk,supplychainresilienceandlong-termcosts.OnlytheCEOandboardshavetheauthorityandperspectivetomake

thosecallsattheenterpriselevel.

2.Coordinateacrossallbusinessunits:AIsovereigntycutsacrosslegal,financial,technologicalandreputational

boundaries.WithoutC-suitecoordinationandboard-leveloversight,organizationsriskfragmentedexecution.CEOsmustensuregovernanceframeworksaligninvestment,

partnershipsandcompliancewithnationalprioritiesandcorporateandnationalgrowthstrategies.

3.Engagepolicyandindustryleaders:SovereignAIisnotjustbeingbuilt—it’sbeingnegotiated.Asgovernmentpolicies

arebeingdevelopedaroundtheworld,itisimportantforcorporateandindustryleaders'voicestobepartoftheprocess.

Leadershipmustmoveswiftly.Thecompaniesthattreat

sovereigntyasstrategywillshapethetermsoftheAIera.Thosethatdon’twillinherittheruleswrittenbyothers.

Figure2:SovereignAIresponsibilitylagsattheCEO/Boardlevel

Q:WhoinyourorganizationisprimarilyresponsibleforAIsovereigntydecisions?

CEOorBoard-levelleadership

19%

29%

37%

15%

IT/CloudInfrastructureTeam

ChiefComplianceorRiskOfficer

ChiefDataOfficer/ChiefAI

Officer

Source:AccentureSovereignAIsurvey,July-August2025,N=1,928

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth9

Imperative

02

Reframesovereignty:

Fromriskmanagementtovaluecreation

MostorganizationsapproachsovereignAIwitha

defensiveposture—motivatedbycompliance

requirements(46%),controlovercriticaldata

(28%)andcybersecurityconcerns(27%).Fewer

than13%citemonetizationorculturalalignmentasstrategicmotivators(Figure3).Theprevailing

view:Sovereigntymitigatesriskratherthan

generatesvalue.Yettreatingsovereigntypurelyasasafeguardleavesvastvalueuntapped.

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth10

Imperative2|Reframesovereignty:Fromriskmanagementtovaluecreation

Figure3:SovereignAIdriversarestilllargelydefensive

Q:Whatwere/wouldbethekeymotivationsforyourorganizationtoconsidersovereignAI?

46%

Compliancewith

localregulations

(e.g.,GDPR,AIAct)

28%

GainingcontrolovercriticaldataandAImodels

27%

Addressing

nationalsecurityorindustry-specific

requirements

21%

Ensuring

operational

continuityamidgeopoliticalortraderisks

20%

Drivinginnovationandmaintaining

local

competitiveness

16%

ReducingrelianceonglobalAI

providers

12%

15%

12%

TailoringAI

capabilitiestoalignwithlocalcontextsandvalues

Increasing

competitive

advantageasit

improvescustomer/consumertrust

Monetizingdata

and/or

collaboratingwithotherorganizationswhoarealso

leveragingthe

samesovereignAItechnologystack

Source:AccentureSovereignAIsurvey,July-August2025,N=1,928

Imperative2|Reframesovereignty:Fromriskmanagementtovaluecreation

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth11

Companiesshouldflipthe

script.SovereignAIcanunlocknewvaluebyturninglocal

trustandculturalalignmentintocompetitiveadvantage.

Whyitmatters:

WhencompaniesbuildAIthatspeakstheirmarket’slanguage—literallyandfiguratively—theycapturecustomerconfidenceandregulatoryapprovalsimultaneously.Thistrustunlocks

collaborationthatwouldotherwisebeimpossible.Takethe

OpenBindConsortium7—supportedby￡8millionfromthe

SovereignAIUnitoftheUKGovernment—whichisbuildingaUK-baseddatasetforAI-drivendrugdiscovery,20xlargerthan

anythingbefore.Thiskindofdatasharingcanonlyhappenwithtrustatalocallevel,illustratinghowsovereignAIcandirectly

empowernationalindustriesandcitizens.

SovereignAIplatformsenableparticipantswithinthesame

ecosystem—acrossanation,aregion,anindustryorasupply

chain—toshareandactondatasecurely.Inregulated

environments,thismeansorganizationscancollaborateonAI

models,dataandinsightswithoutriskingcompliancebreachesorexposingsensitiveassets.It’salevelofcross-enterprise

cooperationthatonlybecomesviablewithinatrustedsovereignframework.

Leadingfirmsarealreadyprovingthatsovereigntycanextend

beyondprotectiontoparticipation.Someareinvestinginecosystemreadinessbybecomingproviders—helpingsuppliers,customersandgovernmentsadoptsovereignsolutions.Two-thirdsofleaderssay

theirecosystemsneedthissupport.Doneright,sovereigntycan

sparkdatamarketplaces,attracttalent,createlocalmodelstunedtoculturalnuanceandnurturelocalinnovationecosystems—turning

complianceintonationbuilding.Thisisnowhappeningacrosssectors.

TelecomoperatorssuchasIndosatOoredooHutchisoninIndonesiaarebuildingthecountry’sfirstsovereignAIcloudwithAccentureandNVIDIA8—supportinglocalstartupsandgovernmentclientswhile

ensuringnationaldatastaysonshore.Insoftwareandplatforms,

Oracle’sEUSovereignCloud9isenablingEuropeanorganizationstorunsensitiveworkloadsfullyunderEUlaw.Andinhealthcare,

projectssuchastheSovereignAIFactoryFrankfurt10offercompliantenvironmentsforhospitalsandresearchinstitutestotrainanddeploymodelsunderGDPRandtheAIAct.

Imperative2|Reframesovereignty:Fromriskmanagementtovaluecreation

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth12

Takeaction:

Governments,fortheirpart,playapivotalroleinturning

sovereignambitionintoeconomicimpact.Theycanreinforce

thismomentumbyfundinglocalinfrastructure,subsidizing

trustedprovidersandopeningpublicdatasetsincriticalsectorstosparkinnovationbysmallandmedium-sizedenterprises

(SMEs),startupsandresearchorganizations.Partneringwith

academiaisequallyvital—buildingapipelineofnext-generationAItalent,developingnewmodelslocallyandanchoring

innovationathome.

Providers,inturn,shouldactasecosystemanchors,enablingsmallerplayerstoparticipateandthrive—coveredingreaterdetailinImperative3below.AclearexampleisSTACKIT,thecloudproviderofSchwarzDigits,theITanddigitaldivisionofShwartzGroup.

STACKITbeganasaninternalsovereigncloudtoservethe

group’sownbusinessessuchasLidlandKaufland,andhassinceevolvedintoafull-fledgedproviderforexternalorganizations.

Today,STACKITextendsitsinfrastructureanddata-sovereigncloudservicestobothcommercialecosystemsandpublic

institutions11.

Tosustainmomentum,organizationsmustparticipatein

sovereigntyforlong-termrelevanceandsurvival,notjust

securityandcompliance.Whatnewvaluewillyoucapture?Whatnewcustomersormarketswillyoutargetbecauseyouhave

sovereignrelevanceandmaturity?

Embeddingsovereigntyaspartofbusinessstrategychanges

howcompaniescompete.Today,theraceforcompetitivenessis

inseparablefromspeedingupsovereignty,asorganizationsseek

greaterassurance,autonomyandtrustinthetechnologiesthat

underpintheirgrowth.Sovereigntynowshapesaccesstomarkets,customertrustandrevenueperformance.

Governmentscannormalizethisshiftbyembeddingsovereigntyinnational,digitalandindustrialstrategies,settingthetonethroughpolicythatrequiressupplierstomeetsovereigntystandards.Theycanshow—throughtangibleexamples—how,ifenterprisescaptureAI’svalue,itcantranslateintonationaladvantage.

Similarly,ifenergycompaniesapplylocallygovernedAItogrids,itstrengthensresilienceandlowersnationalcosts.Suchproofpointscanmakeclearthatenterprisevaluecreationandnation-building

moveinlockstep.

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth13

Imperative

03

Expandyour

ecosystem:Navigatethesovereignty

continuum

Sovereigntyisnotbinary—it’sa

continuum.Companiesmustdetermine

wheresovereigntytrulymatters,andhowtodialitupordowndependingonriskandvalue.Thegoodnewsisthatparticipatinginsovereignmarketsandbenefitingfromnationalsovereignagendasdoesn’t

requirechangingeverythingormakingeveryworkloadsovereign.

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth14

Imperative3|Expandyourecosystem:Navigatethesovereigntycontinuum

Ourresearchshowsthat

companiescanmeaningfullyparticipateandcapture

sovereignopportunitiesbyapplyingsovereignty

measurestojustone-thirdoftheirAIinitiatives.Even

withinthatthird,the

requireddegreeofstrict

localizationneededvaries.

Whyitmatters:

Noteverythingdemandstransformationalchangeorheavyinvestment.Someusecasesneedonlylocaldataresidencyandoversightofglobalinfrastructure,whileotherscallforfull-stacksovereignty—localdataandinfrastructure,multi-cloudandmulti-modelaccess,confidentialcomputing,

advancedencryptionorevenair-gappedsystemswhennecessary.

Similarly,thefutureofAIinfrastructurewillbeacontinuumofchoicesthatwillalloworganizationstofluidlycombineglobalscalewithlocaloversighttocreatefit-for-purposesolutions.

Considertherapidgrowthofsmalllanguageandindustry-

alignedmodels.Whilemanyofthelargerlanguagemodels

willcomefromglobalproviders,smalllanguagemodelsor

industrymodelsmayincreasinglyoriginatefromlocal

vendorsdevelopingdomain-specificandculturallytuned

capabilities.Enterprisesneedtheabilitytoadaptquickly,

selectingandfine-tuningthemodelsthatdeliverthehighestrelevance,performanceandcostefficiencyfortheircontext.

Similarly,whilecloudcomputeinfrastructureatagloballevelwillstillbebestservedbyaglobalcloudprovider,regional

providerscanaugmentthemseamlesslyforworkloadsthatneedhigh-intensityAItrainingwithoutmovingdata,oredgeprocessingandlow-latencyinferencing.

Figure4:Themovetowardagreaterprovidermixfuelsflexibility

Q:Whichofthefollowingsovereignsolutionprovidersareyouconsidering?

56%55%

3x

3x

27%24%

19%

16%

3%

Onlylocal

providers

Amix

ofboth

None

Onlyglobalproviders

(AWS,Google,

Microsoft,Oracle)

SovereignCloud2022SovereignAl-2025Considering

Sources:AccentureSovereignCloudSurveyinEurope,October2022;N=300|AccentureSovereignAIsurvey,July-August2025,N=1,928

Imperative3|Expandyourecosystem:Navigatethesovereigntycontinuum

SovereignAI|OwnyourAIfuture:Frommanagingrisktoacceleratinggrowth15

Thisevolutionpointstoan

ecosystemthatisfarmore

adaptiveanddistributedthan

before.Thecompetitive

advantageliesnotinuniformity,

butintheabilitytoorchestratetherightcombinationofproviders,

architecturesand

models/services—continuously

evolvingastechnology,regulationandmarketneedschange.

Localprovidersareessentialtosustainingchoiceacrossthis

continuum.Yetinmanyregions,theyremainlimitedorabsent,creatingstructuraldependenciesonglobalplayers.Without

viablelocaloptions,sovereigntybecomesconstrainedbyexternalcapacityandpriorities.Governmentsareactivelyhelpinglocalprovidersbecomemoreresilient,competitiveandtrustworthy.

Forexample,EuropeancountriesappearkeentocreateanAIGigafactorybypoolingresources,withstronginterestfrom16MemberStatesacross60differentsitessubmittedinresponsetotheCallforExpressionofInterestinAIGigafactoriesinJune2025.Suchmodelswillexpandasgovernmentsinterveneto

strengthendomesticsupply.

Takeaction:

OrganizationshavemanychoicestodaywhenitcomestoAIsolutionproviders.Theyinclude:

Globalcloudprovidersofferunmatchedscale,servicebreadthandpaceofinnovation.Theyalsoprovidestronglegal,

operationalandtechnicalsovereigncapabilities:e.g.,AWS’sEuropeanSovereignCloudandGoogle’ssovereignofferingswithEUpartners.

Frontlinersarecountry-endorsednationalchampions(often

localincumbentssuchastelcosorhigh-techcompanies)withlocalbrandrecognitionthatcanmeetpublicsectortrust

requirementsandrungovernment-endorsedindustryorcross-industrysolutions(dataandapplicationspacesforAI).

NeocloudsareAI-nativeprovidersbuiltfortheneweraof

compute.Theydeliverhigh-performanceinfrastructuretailored

toAIworkloads,combininglocalcapacitybuiltonamodernstackcreatedforAIworkloads.PlayerssuchasNebius,Nscale,

CoreWeaveandLambdaexemplifythismodel—offeringrapid

deployment,modernarchitecturesandtrustedoperationsthatleten