OneQode, Hitachi Vantara & Cylix launch sovereign AI

OneQode, Hitachi Vantara and Cylix Applied Intelligence have formed an alliance to launch a Sovereign AI Factory initiative, starting in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.

The initiative aims to deploy sovereign AI infrastructure for governments and businesses that want to keep control of data, infrastructure and regulatory compliance within their own jurisdictions.

The alliance combines three parts of the stack. OneQode will supply energy, facilities, telecommunications and GPU compute infrastructure through its global network. Hitachi Vantara will provide its Hitachi iQ AI infrastructure platform, which combines compute, networking and storage. Cylix Applied Intelligence will deliver the AI layer, including readiness assessments, retrieval-augmented generation deployments and managed AI services.

The group described the arrangement as a multimillion-dollar alliance, but did not disclose the programme's value or a deployment timetable for the initial markets.

Rising demand

The announcement comes as demand rises for systems that let organisations run AI workloads while keeping sensitive information inside national borders. The issue has become more prominent in sectors that handle critical infrastructure, regulated data and intellectual property.

Matt Shearing, Chief Executive Officer, OneQode, said the company is seeing demand for this type of infrastructure in emerging markets.

"We're genuinely excited to be working with Hitachi Vantara and Cylix on this," said Matt Shearing, Chief Executive Officer, OneQode. "We cut our teeth on gaming and financial services, building infrastructure for firms where microseconds matter. It's given us a particular way of thinking about compute, networking and data centre operations, and there's real demand across the Global South for sovereign AI infrastructure built to that standard. This alliance lets us deliver it," said Shearing.

Hitachi Vantara said the Australian market is already showing signs that sovereignty requirements are moving into mainstream procurement.

"More than half of the enterprise tenders we're seeing in Australia now specify sovereign-capable solutions," said Nathan Knight, Vice President and Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Hitachi Vantara. "Boards and management teams are now treating data sovereignty as a critical requirement alongside operational resilience and security. In the event of foreign ownership, control and intervention, the impact on critical infrastructure and intellectual property would be catastrophic. We applaud OneQode's decision to make Australia one of the first locations for its Sovereign AI Factory network, and we're committed to supporting that ambition with infrastructure that meets the standard these workloads demand," said Knight.

Operational layer

Cylix Applied Intelligence said its role is to help customers move beyond infrastructure procurement to running AI systems in production. Its work will cover architecture design and managed services on top of the infrastructure supplied by OneQode and Hitachi Vantara.

"Sovereign AI requires more than infrastructure; it requires the ability to operationalize AI at scale. At Cylix, we design and deploy Sovereign AI Factory architectures and deliver fully managed AI services on top of OneQode's sovereign infrastructure and Hitachi iQ platforms. This allows organizations to move from concept to production quickly, while maintaining full control over their data, compliance, and operational environment. Our role is to ensure AI workloads are not just deployed, but continuously optimized, governed, and delivering real business value," said Ross DiStefano, Senior Vice President, HPC and AI, Cylix Applied Intelligence.

Regional rollout

The partners said the combined platform is designed as a turnkey offering for organisations that want to train and deploy AI models securely while keeping data in-country. The initial focus on Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore suggests the group is targeting markets where demand for digital infrastructure, regulatory scrutiny and interest in domestic control of AI systems are all rising.

OneQode has built its business around digital infrastructure for latency-sensitive sectors, including gaming and financial services. Hitachi Vantara operates in data storage, infrastructure systems and cloud management. Cylix Applied Intelligence focuses on AI strategy, deployment and managed services. Together, they are offering a single commercial package aimed at sovereign AI projects.

Although the alliance has identified the United States as a target for later expansion, its immediate focus is Asia-Pacific. That starting point reflects growing pressure on governments and enterprises to adopt AI systems without ceding control over where data is stored, processed and governed.