Abu Dhabi-based Open Innovation AI has signed a heads of agreement with VivoPower PLC to develop secure sovereign AI data centres across the GCC, Nordics, mainland Europe, and Asia. The partnership combines Open Innovation AI’s orchestration and security software layer with VivoPower’s infrastructure expertise in site development, power procurement, and facility operations. Targeting at least 1GW of sovereign AI capacity over the next three years, the collaboration aims to expand UAE artificial intelligence expertise globally, starting with deployments across VivoPower’s Nordic pipeline at Mo i Rana in northern Norway.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday, 21 October, at Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi. Open Innovation AI will provide the orchestration, AI operations and security layer that lets governments run AI under their own control, and VivoPower will lead site development, power procurement and facility operations. The partners will target at least 1GW of sovereign AI capacity over the next three years, against an opportunity they estimate at more than 40GW in Europe alone.
As a first step, Open Innovation AI’s platform will be deployed across VivoPower’s existing portfolio and Nordic pipeline, which includes its site at Mo i Rana in northern Norway, with individual projects to follow under separate, project-specific agreements.
Taking UAE sovereign AI expertise to new markets
The partnership builds on the sovereign AI platforms Open Innovation AI has designed, deployed, and operated for government and enterprise environments in the UAE, one of the world’s earliest and most ambitious adopters of sovereign cloud.
In the GCC, the partners will build on Open Innovation AI’s home base in the UAE and VivoPower’s presence in Abu Dhabi to support national AI strategies across the Gulf. In Europe, many governments that want AI infrastructure under local law still depend on foreign hyperscalers for the software layer that runs it. Open Innovation AI’s AI Fabric addresses that gap with a single stack for orchestration, AI operations, agentic workflows and AI security, which runs in private cloud, on-premises and air-gapped environments without tying customers to any hardware vendor or hyperscaler.
Dr. Abed Benaichouche, Co-Founder and CEO of Open Innovation AI, said: “Sovereign AI is not only about compute capacity; it is about securing and controlling the technology layer that allows governments and enterprises to run AI safely, locally and at scale. VivoPower shares our belief that every nation should control its own intelligence. Together, we can bring secure AI Data Centers online faster across the Nordics, Mainland Europe, the GCC and Asia, and take the UAE’s AI expertise to new markets.”
Alex Cuppage, Chief Investment Officer of VivoPower PLC, said: “VivoPower is committed to being the most trusted long-term AI infrastructure partner to nations, and we believe sovereigns who build leading AI infrastructure on a secure, full-stack sovereign cloud will drive national prosperity and security. We are delighted to partner with Open Innovation AI, a proven sovereign AI orchestration and security platform that gives governments and enterprises a complete path from site to secure AI service. The UAE is globally seen as one of the most advanced nations utilizing sovereign compute, and signing this agreement in Abu Dhabi, at the heart of the region’s AI ambition, is a fitting start.”
The agreement marks an important step in Open Innovation AI’s international expansion and is aligned with the direction of the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 and the country’s ambition to extend its AI expertise to partners abroad.
