The United States and China control 90 percent of the computing power needed to develop and deploy frontier AI. They own all 50 of the top-ranked AI foundation models. Concerned about this concentration of AI power, governments worldwide have responded with initiatives to strengthen their AI capabilities under the banner of “sovereign AI.”
Although a consensus definition of sovereign AI remains elusive, this index defines a sovereign AI project as a government-backed AI initiative tied explicitly to national strategic interests and backed by material public investment in domestic compute, models, or data ecosystems.
The drivers of sovereign AI vary widely. For some countries, the imperative is security: protecting sensitive data and ensuring access to advanced capabilities for defense and intelligence. For others, it is the economy: leveraging AI to spur AI-related local investment, jobs, productivity, and long-term value. Culture is another driver, with nations seeking AI systems that better reflect local languages and norms. Autonomy also motivates countries that see danger in growing AI dependence on the United States or China. These drivers often overlap.
The result is a surge in sovereign AI activity across the globe.
[ CNAS — 2026 ]