WWT & Polarise partner on sovereign AI centre in Oslo

World Wide Technology has partnered with Polarise to develop sovereign AI infrastructure in Europe, beginning with an AI data centre in Oslo.

The deal comes as European companies and public bodies seek AI computing capacity that remains under regional jurisdiction and control.

World Wide Technology, known as WWT, will act as systems integrator for the Oslo site, which is already under way. Polarise, a German provider of what it calls AI Factories, is supplying the full stack, including the data centre, cooling systems, infrastructure and software platform.

The Oslo facility is planned as a liquid-cooled deployment built to NVIDIA reference architecture and running NVIDIA accelerated computing. It is expected to house 5 MW of compute capacity, adding to Europe's still limited but growing pool of AI infrastructure operated under European control.

The partnership reflects a broader regional shift as organisations move AI projects from experimentation to day-to-day use. That transition has increased demand for data centre capacity that can support large AI workloads while meeting requirements for data residency, governance and operational control.

Polarise has already deployed a large AI cluster in Munich as part of the Industrial AI Cloud project. Oslo marks the next phase of that expansion, with WWT expected to support further deployments across Europe.

For WWT, the agreement strengthens its position in a market where demand for AI infrastructure is rising alongside scrutiny of where computing resources are located and who operates them. For Polarise, the partnership brings in a systems integrator with experience delivering large infrastructure projects.

The arrangement is intended to combine local control over infrastructure with more predictable delivery of complex projects. That is a central issue for European organisations that want to adopt AI services without relying entirely on computing resources outside the region.

Regional demand

Governments and businesses across Europe have placed greater emphasis on digital sovereignty in recent years, particularly in cloud services, data storage and semiconductor supply. AI infrastructure has become part of that debate as demand for graphics processing units and related data centre systems has grown quickly.

Building sovereign AI compute in Europe presents several challenges. Operators need access to advanced chips, specialist cooling systems, software tools and integration skills, while also securing enough power and suitable data centre capacity. Large deployments can also take time to complete, making delivery certainty a commercial as well as a technical issue.

In that context, the Oslo project offers an example of how providers are moving from policy discussions to operational infrastructure. It also shows how partnerships are forming between AI cloud platform operators and companies that specialise in assembling and delivering large-scale technology estates.

Michel Boutouil, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Polarise, described the project as part of a broader regional effort to establish domestic AI infrastructure.

"We are building the sovereign AI compute that Germany and Europe will lead on, the infrastructure a European economy running on AI depends on, and we are building it now, not in two or three years," Boutouil said. "Oslo is the next step. Partnering with WWT lets us build at the pace the market demands, with delivery standards our customers can depend on."

Scott O'Mara, Senior Vice President of GSP International at WWT, said demand in Europe for regionally controlled infrastructure was likely to keep growing.

"Over the next decade, European enterprises will need sovereign compute on a scale that barely exists today," O'Mara said. "Our role is to deliver the right architecture, the right partners, and a cluster that goes live when the contract says it will. Demand for European AI capacity is growing, and Polarise is building it. We're backing them with the delivery experience to match."