Nvidia and Perplexity are collaborating to develop and deploy sovereign AI models tailored to local languages and cultures across Europe and the Middle East, aiming to up-level regional digital autonomy. The initiative will see the companies work with local model builders and cloud providers, keeping data within the respective regions.
Tech titans unite: Nvidia is providing the AI infrastructure, teaming up with over a dozen model builders including France's H Company, Spain's Barcelona Supercomputing Center, and the UAE's Technology Innovation Institute. These partners will optimize their models using Nvidia’s Nemotron techniques for improved efficiency and accuracy.
Truly local AI: Perplexity will integrate these sovereign models, supporting Europe’s 24 official languages and keeps data local by running on regional infrastructure via Nvidia Cloud Partners. Businesses can fine-tune models through Nvidia's DGX Cloud Lepton marketplace and a new Hugging Face integration.
Beyond the Bay: This move furthers Nvidia's strategy to build AI ecosystems outside traditional tech hubs, meeting global demand for sovereign capabilities. Reflecting this demand, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas told Reuters that Germany already represents the AI search firm's second-largest market by revenue.
The sovereignty signal: With the first regionally-focused AI models expected later this year, this collaboration shows a growing push for AI solutions that prioritize local needs and data control. The partnership lands as European tech firms advocate for a sovereign infrastructure fund to boost regional tech independence. Meanwhile, Perplexity faces a copyright lawsuit from Dow Jones even as it reportedly eyes a fresh funding round valuing it at $14 billion.
Reading Recap:
