Europe is accelerating a sovereign AI push to protect data, reduce dependence on foreign providers, and stay competitive amid geopolitical uncertainty, with a majority of organizations pursuing sovereign solutions and particular interest rising in Denmark, Ireland, and Germany.

Key leadership recommendations emphasize CEO-driven sovereignty programs, value-centric framing, broader ecosystems, and a multi-cloud AI architecture to embed sovereignty throughout data, infrastructure, models, and apps.

Accenture collaborates with Telia Cygate in Sweden and with Nebius to build sovereign AI foundations that meet data residency needs, demonstrating practical deployments of sovereign AI across Europe.

The emphasis is that sovereign AI is about aligning control with use cases, not hoarding data, demonstrated by Sweden’s Telia Cygate project and Nebius’ Europe-focused AI cloud for secure workloads.

Only 19% of organizations see sovereign AI as a competitive advantage, while 48% cite compliance as the primary motivation; 73% want governments to bolster Europe’s digital sovereignty through policy and investment, with SMEs seen as key access points to sovereign solutions.

Additionally, 70% of organizations view SMEs as critical to accessing sovereign AI solutions, underscoring the need for policy and investment to broaden SME participation.

Sovereign AI adoption is led by regulated sectors handling sensitive data—banking, public services, and utilities—with significant expected investment growth as about six in ten European organizations plan to increase sovereign AI spending over the next two years.

A sovereign AI strategy should balance data control with access to global innovation through data residency, local infrastructure, model sovereignty, and secure architectures, recognizing that some use cases require full sovereignty while others need only local data residency.

Accenture positions itself as a reinvention partner helping enterprises unlock AI value, delivering 360-degree benefits for stakeholders.

The firm supports clients across strategy, technology, and industry domains, emphasizing speed and scale in AI value creation, and provides media contact for inquiries.

Accenture highlights its large workforce and ecosystem partnerships as enablers of AI-enabled value across industries.

Nebius has launched an AI cloud platform in Europe and the Middle East that combines hardware, software, and energy-efficient data centers to manage the full AI lifecycle.

The insights come from a global survey of 1,928 organizations across 28 countries and 18 industries conducted in mid-2025, capturing perspectives from senior technology and policy leaders in both public and private sectors.

The study blends quantitative, qualitative, and policy analysis to explore how governments and enterprises advance sovereign AI and cloud.

Respondents focus on how sovereign AI and cloud can be advanced globally, reflecting cross-sector views from public and private sectors.

Accenture recommends four strategic actions: CEO ownership of sovereign AI initiatives; reframing sovereignty as value creation rather than risk avoidance; expanding hybrid ecosystems combining local trust with global innovation; and redefining architecture to enable a multi-cloud approach that embeds sovereignty across data, infrastructure, models, and applications.