OpenAI for Germany – Digital Sovereignty with Azure as the Foundation?

Title: OpenAI for Germany – Digital Sovereignty with Azure as the Foundation?

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On September 24, 2025, SAP and OpenAI announced a new partnership: OpenAI for Germany. The goal is to bring artificial intelligence “made for Germany” to the public sector – responsibly, legally compliant, and sovereign. The project is supported by SAP and operated through their subsidiary Delos Cloud – based on Microsoft Azure.

At first glance: a step forward. On second glance: a contradiction.

Because when critical infrastructure is operated on a US platform under the label “sovereignty,” the question inevitably arises: How sovereign can this system really be?

The Architecture Behind the Label

According to the press release, SAP and OpenAI aim to jointly develop AI solutions specifically tailored to the needs of the German public sector. This involves things like automated administration, data-driven analysis, and process optimization – in short, the digital transformation of state operations. An ambitious endeavor that could provide much-needed impetus.

The problem, however, lies in the foundation: Delos Cloud as the infrastructure operator relies on Microsoft Azure. This means the technical platform is based on a US cloud provider, subject to the regulations of the U.S. Cloud Act and other extraterritorial laws. Even if data is physically hosted in Germany, it is not necessarily protected there legally.

The claim that this is a “sovereign” solution is at least relativized – if not refuted.

Sovereignty is Not a Frontend Feature

Sovereignty means being able to act independently and responsibly. In the digital world, this specifically means control over infrastructure, data flows, interfaces, standards, and access levels. If a European solution is based from the start on a platform outside our legislative control, it is not free from external influence – no matter how many protective mechanisms or certificates are built in.

The argument that Microsoft Azure is operated “according to European standards” overlooks systemic risks. Ultimately, what matters is not how trustworthy the provider is on paper, but how robust the legal and political frameworks are under which it operates.

Strategic Technology Policy or Symbolic Trust?

The federal government has set ambitious goals: By 2030, artificial intelligence is to generate up to 10% of the gross domestic product. This requires powerful platforms, reliable partners, and a strong ecosystem. But also: a viable strategy for digital self-determination.

The fact that we currently lack a European alternative on par is not a technical necessity but the result of missed industrial policy decisions over the past two decades. Instead of systematically building our own structures, reliance was placed on “the big ones” – fast, scalable, proven. The price for this is a structural dependency that is reinforced with every new project.

Where is the European Response?

The European response to such developments cannot be to label existing hyperscalers with local labels. It must be to consistently expand, promote, and mandatorily use our own infrastructure in the public sector.

SAP has the opportunity here to establish a truly independent platform with Delos Cloud – not just “operated by SAP,” but also technologically controlled and anchored in Europe. But as long as the foundation is called Azure, “OpenAI for Germany” remains progress with an asterisk – not a genuine change of course.

Conclusion

The collaboration of SAP, OpenAI, and Microsoft to introduce “sovereign AI” for the public sector is an important signal – but also a lesson in the complexity of digital dependencies. Sovereignty does not begin with branding but with infrastructure. It requires control, reliability, and a long-term strategy beyond short-term scaling advantages.

It is up to politics – and the European economy – to finally answer this question consistently: Do we really want technological sovereignty – or is the feeling of it enough for us?