Reclaiming Momentum: How the U.K. Can Lead in Sovereign AI and Data
New global research highlights an opportunity for the U.K. to better leverage its world-class infrastructure and strengthen its position in the strategic shift to sovereign AI and data
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Generative and agentic AI applications could drive over $17 trillion in economic impact by 2028—but turning that potential into reality requires control, not just innovation. Rising security and regulatory demands are pushing enterprises and governments toward sovereign AI and data platforms: open source systems where data and AI are governed together at the edge, on-prem, or in-country cloud. This feels new to many as it requires more than just turning a dial to more or less cloud.
This is about delivering results in a new landscape where your data and your AI needs to be under your control and orchestration 24/7/365. This is about platforming your future in one controllable plane of sight.
These platforms are fast becoming the foundation for competitive advantage. Yet despite strong infrastructure and a robust AI workforce, new global research suggests that there’s a gap between the government’s proactive stance and current enterprise engagement. This indicates room for better alignment and collaboration to unlock AI and data’s potential.
The disconnect is particularly stark in the banking sector, which just a year ago was seen as the U.K.’s most likely growth engine for AI. Sustained momentum and decisive action across commercial sectors will be pivotal to ensuring the U.K. continues to strengthen its competitive edge in the evolving global data economy.
“Sovereignty over AI and data must be mission critical for every economy and every enterprise within it. In today’s world, global free trade looks different—if you can’t control your data and AI, you’ll struggle to compete,” says Kevin Dallas, CEO of EnterpriseDB (EDB).
So, what is going wrong and how can it be fixed? New global research from EDB reveals three important signals:
1. Infrastructure intent does not equate to enterprise desire.
The upcoming EDB study spanning 13 of the world’s leading economies—the U.S. and U.K., major EMEA markets, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, India, Japan, and Singapore, together representing $48 trillion in GDP—reveals that U.K. enterprise leaders are showing comparatively lower levels of strategic intent when it comes to sovereign AI and data. This contrasts with the nation’s historical standing as a powerhouse in this space.
Government-backed programs are critical infrastructure plays. Yet when it comes to intent to build sovereign AI and data platforms, U.K. enterprise leaders now rank among the least committed of their global peers.
If national ambition isn’t matched by commercial commitment, the U.K. risks losing its early advantage.
“The U.K. has strength in infrastructure, talent, data infrastructure, and AI company formation, but that hasn’t translated into sovereign readiness,” says Dallas. “In our recent global survey of over 2,000 executives, we saw the equivalent of 30 enterprises a day making strategic investments in sovereign AI and data factories to fully own and operate their AI and data.”
2. Future readiness demands more than infrastructure—it requires belief and action around three core principles.
Despite the U.K.’s strong foundation—ranking among the top in AI talent and infrastructure—it places just ninth in future readiness, trailing behind economies including Germany, Saudi Arabia/UAE, and even Spain and Italy.
What we’re seeing globally is that success hinges on a strategic commitment to full data access, integrated AI, open source foundations, and hybrid infrastructure—alongside accelerating as many applications as possible into an agentic state.
In EDB’s research, 81% of enterprise leaders said they believe open, strategic data infrastructure will be essential to compete. Not just because it reduces lock-in but because it creates the flexibility and visibility required to scale AI in complex, distributed environments.
“Generative and agentic AI applications are transforming every industry,” says Dallas. “The race is on, the fastest-moving economies aren’t simply locking things down. They’re building sovereign AI and data factories that are open source based, flexible, future-proof architectures so their AI and data can adapt and deliver value across borders, partners, and time.”
In countries leading the charge, enterprise leaders consistently aligned around three core beliefs:
“The next three years will define which economies control the future of AI and data. Trillions have been invested to build one of the world’s most advanced AI ecosystems—but without enterprise strategies anchored in these three core principles, those assets will sit idle while other markets convert momentum into lasting advantage,” says Dallas.
RANKING ON THE OVERALL SOVEREIGN AI AND DATA FUTURE READINESS INDEX (8 METRICS)
First Saudi Arabia/UAE
Second Germany
Third Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden)
Fourth U.S.
Fifth Japan
Sixth SIngapore
Seventh Spain
Eighth Italy
Ninth U.K.
Tenth France
Eleventh India
Source: EDB, Global Sovereign AI and Data Leader and Laggard Index (April/May, 2025)
3. U.K. executives need to accelerate one key variable to compete.
The U.K. is not alone in facing this crossroads. But while Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are converting infrastructure into execution, the U.K. seems to be carefully weighing its next moves in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Germany, a peer economy in both infrastructure and industrial complexity, now scores 127 on EDB’s Sovereign AI and Data Index—45 points ahead of the U.K.’s score of 82. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, once viewed as digital followers, are now among the most aggressive movers. In every case, the shift began with one key commonality: faster recognition that sovereign control over AI and data is no longer optional.
That recognition is reshaping enterprise priorities. Only 29% of global executives describe sovereignty as mission critical today, but 68% say it will be essential to success within three years. And as more leaders act, the foundations they’re choosing matter just as much as the strategy itself.
Conclusion
The divide between early movers and the rest is already visible in the numbers. Just 13% of enterprises have fully integrated AI and data operations, but they account for 21% of the total global ROI. These aren’t outliers. They’re signals of what’s possible when strategy and execution align at speed.
With the global AI and data economy projected to reach $16.5 trillion by 2028, the opportunity is immense. The U.K. still holds a structural advantage—world-class infrastructure, talent, and public investment. What’s needed now is enterprise action to match.
The research program “EDB Global Sovereign AI and Data Leader and Laggard Index” will be released publicly in Q3 2025 and will enable enterprise leaders to see where they are best profiled and what the key steps should be to achieve successful hybrid sovereign AI and data infrastructure and AI applications.