New Study Reveals the Blueprint for European Digital Sovereignty: Computing Power, Cloud, Open Source and Capital

A new industry whitepaper titled “Digital Sovereignty: Technology Leadership Made in Europe” by GITEX AI EUROPE and LUE identifies four key pillars powering Europe’s intelligent economy

From 30 June to 1 July 2026 at Messe Berlin, GITEX AI EUROPE sets the continent’s biggest stage for global collaborations in AI, deep tech, quantum, cyber, and digital infrastructure

Dubai, UAE – 25 November 2025: A new whitepaper released by Europe’s leading tech, startup and digital investment event, GITEX AI EUROPE, in partnership with research firm - LUE, maps out the foundations for Europe’s digital sovereignty; identifying the imperatives that could define the continent’s next decade of technological leadership.

With Europe’s ICT market now valued at €1.02 trillion1, the study emphasizes that Europe’s long-term tech competitiveness hinges on its ability to scale AI computing power, establish cloud infrastructure, embed open-source standards, and mobilise deeper pools of startup capital. Together, these priorities form the pillars of a ‘new industrial compact’ aligning Europe’s innovation capacity with its economic and energy growth.

Compute as the New Industrial Power

While Europe’s data centre capacity is set to grow by 70% by 2030, the report highlights that demand from AI applications is set to rise even faster. To keep pace, Europe must expand both its compute and energy infrastructure in tandem. Germany alone may need to triple its data centre capacity by the end of the decade, requiring up to €60 billion in new investment to meet the projected industrial and AI workloads.

Initiatives such as the EU’s €200 billion InvestAI programme, which funds five AI gigafactories across Europe, are already anchoring this effort. These data centers will be equipped with 100,000 or more specialised chips (GPUs), with access open to large industrial companies as well as startups and research institutes.

The report notes that such expansions must evolve alongside clean energy integration to ensure resilience and sustainability, effectively strengthening the link between digital sovereignty and Europe’s energy transition.

Sovereign Cloud, Not Cloud Dependency

Cloud autonomy emerges as the second frontier. Today, around 40% of European enterprises have at least 40% of their applications hosted in the cloud, a figure expected to soar to 91% by 2028. Yet non-European hyperscalers control roughly 70% of the continent’s cloud market.

The paper calls for a shift toward “sovereign-first” cloud architectures that guarantee operational, legal, and data control within European jurisdictions. The goal isn’t to isolate, but to enable transparency, auditability, and innovation freedom under European standards.

Open Source as Europe’s Edge

The study identifies open source-based cloud technologies as a pivotal force in reinforcing sovereignty. Cloud solutions that are based on open-source software, typically developed by global developer communities, offer new levels of transparency, flexibility, and independence from proprietary vendors.

Open standards such as the Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS), funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, enable companies to build and migrate freely across platforms, fostering a culture of shared innovation. In essence, open source allows Europe to innovate collaboratively while remaining in control of its digital foundations.

Backing Europe’s Deep-Tech Builders

Ultimately sovereignty is sustained not only by infrastructure but by investment. Despite Europe’s rich engineering talent, only around 5% of global venture capital flows into the EU tech ecosystem, according to the Bertelsmann Foundation.

Closing that gap is crucial. The whitepaper calls for a new ecosystem of growth-stage financing, powered by public-private co-investment and strategic industrial funds, to ensure that Europe’s brightest deep-tech startups, from AI and cloud to semiconductors, can scale globally without migrating abroad.

Governments and institutions are creating new financial scaffolding: from Germany’s KfW DeepTech Future Fund (€1 billion) backing high-growth innovators to the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on Next-Generation Cloud and Services, which channels €3 billion into EU-based data and semiconductor projects.

The whitepaper concludes that Europe’s digital sovereignty will be achieved through policy and coordinated execution, in partnership with global stakeholders. Sovereignty isn’t solitude; it’s about building systems that are open by design and secure by default.

GITEX AI EUROPE 2026 Rallies Global Tech Partnerships

Organised by KAOUN International, and endorsed by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, and Berlin Partner for Business and Technology, GITEX AI EUROPE launched earlier this year as the continent’s largest tech, startup, and digital investment debut event, convening over 1,400 enterprises and startups from more than 34 European states and 100 countries.

The 2026 edition, running from 30 June to 1 July 2026 at Messe Berlin, continues to serve as the defining nexus for Europe’s digital future - connecting AI, deep tech, quantum, cyber and cloud innovators, policymakers, and investors in a collective pursuit of open, bold, and collaborative technological leadership.

GITEX AI EUROPE is part of the GITEX global network of tech and startup events, taking place in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Brazil, Egypt, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Serbia, Singapore, Türkiye, and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: www.gitexeurope.com. 

Access the full whitepaper here: https://event.gitexeurope.com/GE26-whitepaper2026

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About GITEX AI EUROPE 2026

 GITEX AI EUROPE 2026, Europe’s most comprehensive and cross-industry technology event, returns from 30 June to 1 July 2026 at Messe Berlin, following a successful inaugural edition that united 1,400 enterprises, SMEs, and startups from over 100 countries, alongside 600 investors and 500 speakers shaping the global technology agenda. In its second edition in 2026, the event reinforces its role as the defining global platform for Europe’s intelligent economy, uniting the continent’s deep tech, research, and engineering excellence across AI, quantum, data centre, cloud, cybersecurity, green tech, among more. With dedicated arenas for Europe’s unicorns, scale-ups, and SMEs, GITEX AI EUROPE continues to accelerate startup growth through North Star Europe, the continental edition of the world’s largest and best-rated startup and investor event. The show is organised by KAOUN International, endorsed by the Berlin Senate Department for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, and supported by Berlin Partner for Business and Technology. For more information, please visit: www.gitexeurope.com.