The €3B IPCEI Cloud: the largest open source project in EU history

In late 2023, the EU approved the “Important Project of Common European Interest on Next Generation Cloud Infrastructure and Services” (IPCEI-CIS). The project was jointly notified by seven Member States: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. This strategic initiative has mobilised around 1.2 billion EUR in State aid, which is expected to unlock an additional 1.4 billion EUR in private investments. The IPCEI-CIS involves the development of the first interoperable and openly accessible European data processing ecosystem: the multi-provider cloud-edge continuum. It will develop data processing capabilities, and open source software and data sharing tools for enabling federated, energy-efficient, and trustworthy cloud and edge distributed data processing services. This joint talk will present the IPCEI-CIS and analyze the crucial role that it is playing in promoting digital sovereignty and collaboration around open source technologies within the EU industry.