Scaleway CEO Damien Lucas: Europe Lost the Cloud Race by a Decade. In AI, It's Only One Year Behind.

2026-07-07 · Source: The French Tech Journal · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing & IT Infrastructure, Cybersecurity & Data Privacy · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, short

Summary

Scaleway CEO Damien Lucas, interviewed at VivaTech 2026, asserts that Europe, while a decade behind in the cloud race, is only one year behind in AI, presenting a critical opportunity for sovereignty. Lucas highlights the €80 billion European cloud market, where US hyperscalers control approximately 85%, emphasizing the need to rebalance market shares. He attributes Europe's slow awakening to a six-year accumulation of shocks, including COVID-19, the US Cloud Act, the 2023 GPU crunch, and recent actions like Anthropic's Fable model being restricted to non-American users. Scaleway's strategy for independence involves having no non-EU shareholders, subsidiaries, or staff, and developing 100% in-house cloud software. Recent announcements include new customers like LVMH and MAIF, a partnership with French chip designer VSORA for a European AI inference project, and joining the European Commission's Cloud III purchasing program. Lucas believes public buyers making "off-take" commitments are crucial for building necessary data center scale, which has shifted from megawatts to gigawatts and millions to billions in cost.

Key takeaway

For Directors of AI/ML or Policy Makers evaluating cloud infrastructure, recognize that geopolitical shifts and supply chain vulnerabilities necessitate a re-evaluation of your reliance on non-EU hyperscalers. Your strategic decisions should prioritize providers demonstrating full sovereignty through EU ownership, in-house software, and commitments to European hardware. Consider participating in "off-take" programs or similar long-term commitments to foster the development of independent, large-scale European AI infrastructure, mitigating future supply shocks and extraterritorial law risks.

Key insights

Europe's AI sovereignty hinges on rapid response, independent infrastructure, and strategic public-private commitments.

Principles

• Geopolitical shocks drive demand for sovereign tech.
• Data center scale requires "off-take" commitments.
• Full sovereignty demands in-house software and EU ownership.

Method

Scaleway achieves sovereignty by having no non-EU shareholders, subsidiaries, or staff, and developing 100% in-house cloud software using open-source components, while actively seeking European chip partnerships.

In practice

• Secure "off-take" agreements for infrastructure builds.
• Invest in European chip design like VSORA's Jotunn8.
• Adopt open-source for cloud stack independence.

Topics

• AI Sovereignty
• Cloud Infrastructure
• European Tech Policy
• Data Centers
• Scaleway
• VSORA Jotunn8

Best for: CTO, VP of Engineering/Data, Executive, Policy Maker, Director of AI/ML, Tech Journalist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by The French Tech Journal.