Sovereign AI: Own your AI future

This document, prepared by Accenture, explores the emerging concept of Sovereign AI and its strategic role in the global technological and economic future. Sovereign AI refers to the ability of a country or company to develop and deploy artificial intelligence independently, using its own infrastructure, data, models, and talent, without relying exclusively on foreign providers concentrated primarily in the United States and China.

The report is aimed at business leaders, technology executives, and government officials who need to understand how AI sovereignty is transforming national and corporate competitiveness. It presents four fundamental strategic imperatives: establishing Sovereign AI as a top-level management priority, reframing sovereignty as a source of value creation beyond simple risk management, building hybrid ecosystems that combine local trust with global innovation, and designing flexible AI architectures that span infrastructure, data, and models.

The document reveals important data from a global survey of nearly 2,000 leaders across 28 countries, showing that 61% are seeking sovereign technology solutions in the face of growing geopolitical risks. It highlights that organizations only need to apply sovereignty measures to approximately one-third of their AI workloads, allowing for a pragmatic approach that combines global and local providers according to the specific needs of each use case.

Among the key concepts it addresses are data residency, control over AI models, cybersecurity, and how different regulated sectors such as defense, government, healthcare, and financial services require different levels of sovereignty. It also analyzes the emergence of new types of technology providers: from global cloud giants to AI-native "neoclouds" and federated consortia that share sovereign infrastructure.

The report presents concrete examples of ongoing initiatives, such as India's Sovereign AI plan, Saudi Arabia's HUMAIN initiative, and corporate projects in Indonesia, Canada, and Europe. It concludes that Sovereign AI does not represent isolationism, but rather a new phase of globalization where nations and companies share technology while maintaining autonomy, transforming what could be a strategic vulnerability into an engine of innovation, competitiveness, and economic growth measurable through GDP.

Key points

• Sovereign AI enables developing AI with own infrastructure, data, and models without depending on foreign providers
• 61% of global leaders seek sovereign solutions amid growing geopolitical risks
• Only one-third of AI workloads need to apply sovereignty measures
• Sovereignty must be a CEO and board priority, not just a technical matter
• Reframe sovereignty as a source of value creation, not just risk management
• Regulated sectors lead in maturity: defense, government, healthcare, and financial services
• Architecture must cover the entire stack: hardware, data, models, applications, and security
• Hybrid strategies combine global and local providers according to specific needs
• Europe leads sovereign action with Nordic countries, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK at the forefront