Europe is advancing its digital sovereignty with a focus on sovereign cloud solutions, according to a new whitepaper released by GITEX AI EUROPE in partnership with research firm LUE. The report highlighted key imperatives that could shape the continent’s technological leadership over the next decade.

The study revealed that Europe’s ICT market is now valued at €1.02 trillion. It emphasized that long-term competitiveness depends on scaling AI computing power, building cloud infrastructure, embedding open-source standards, and mobilizing startup capital.

Europe’s data centre capacity is projected to grow by 70% by 2030. Demand from AI applications is expected to rise even faster. Germany alone may need to triple its data centre capacity, requiring up to €60 billion in new investment. The EU’s €200 billion InvestAI programme funds five AI gigafactories across Europe, offering specialised GPUs to industrial companies, startups, and research institutes.

• Around 40% of European enterprises currently host at least 40% of applications in the cloud, a figure expected to reach 91% by 2028.
• Non-European hyperscalers control roughly 70% of the continent’s cloud market, prompting a push for “sovereign-first” cloud architectures.
• Open-source cloud solutions, such as the Sovereign Cloud Stack (SCS), are seen as critical for transparency, flexibility, and independence.

The report also stressed the importance of investment in Europe’s deep-tech startups. Only 5% of global venture capital currently flows into the EU tech ecosystem. Initiatives like Germany’s KfW DeepTech Future Fund (€1 billion) and the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on Next-Generation Cloud and Services (€3 billion) aim to address this gap.

The whitepaper concluded that Europe’s digital sovereignty requires coordinated policy and execution. It is not about isolation but building secure, open, and collaborative systems.

GITEX AI EUROPE 2026, organized by KAOUN International and supported by Berlin authorities, will continue to rally global tech partnerships. The event, running from 30 June to 1 July 2026 at Messe Berlin, will connect AI, deep tech, quantum, cyber, and cloud innovators, policymakers, and investors.

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