Singapore – Research conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) and commissioned by Dell Technologies indicates that governments across Asia Pacific are accelerating efforts to operationalise sovereign AI, although progress towards large-scale deployment remains constrained by workforce, infrastructure and governance challenges.
The study shows that sovereign AI has rapidly risen in importance, moving from a lower-tier priority to the second-highest area of government investment within a year. This shift reflects a broader repositioning of AI as a form of national digital infrastructure rather than a conventional IT upgrade, with policymakers linking it to resilience, security and control over sensitive data systems.
Adoption across the region is advancing beyond initial exploration, with 46.1% of public sector organisations evaluating sovereign AI technologies and 36.1% already undertaking early-stage pilots. However, only a small proportion have committed substantial funding, indicating that most governments remain in a cautious, preparatory phase focused on governance frameworks, data readiness and risk management.
Meanwhile, a consistent finding is the preference for hybrid deployment models that balance national control with access to global technology ecosystems. Governments are prioritising selective sovereignty, retaining oversight of critical data, systems and regulated workloads while relying on external partners for innovation and scale.
“This research confirms what we’re hearing from government leaders across Asia Pacific—the question is no longer whether Sovereign AI matters, but how to operationalise it at national scale,” Nicole Jefferson, Vice President, Global Government Affairs at Dell Technologies, stated.
“What stands out is the region’s confidence in agentic AI as an accelerator and the understanding that strong governance is an enabler of progression, not a hinderance.”
Confidence in emerging technologies is also evident, particularly in the role of agentic AI. The research reports near-universal agreement among government leaders that such systems will accelerate adoption, especially when combined with strong governance and audit mechanisms. This reflects a broader regional emphasis on ensuring that AI deployment remains aligned with national policy, security and compliance requirements.
Despite this momentum, structural barriers remain significant. Skills shortages are identified as the most pressing constraint, with nearly 90% of organisations reporting gaps in digital capabilities. More than half indicate that these shortages are already affecting the delivery of digital initiatives, particularly in specialised areas such as AI safety, data architecture and sovereign cloud operations.
In parallel, fragmented data environments and legacy systems continue to limit scalability. Many governments are still transitioning from project-based data preparation to more integrated, national data architectures, with interoperability and data governance emerging as critical prerequisites for wider AI adoption.
The research further highlights that expected benefits are concentrated in high-impact public sector domains. Governments anticipate the greatest value in areas such as national security, cybersecurity resilience, healthcare, financial systems and citizen services, where data sensitivity and operational continuity are critical.
“The study shows strong momentum, with public sector leaders looking to autonomous systems to help close skills gaps, ease workforce pressure and accelerate AI adoption,” Ravikant Sharma, Research Director at IDC, commented.
“However, that momentum is conditional. Governments will only move at scale if they have confidence in the security, privacy, sovereignty and infrastructure foundations underpinning these systems.”
Overall, the findings suggest that while Asia Pacific governments are progressing towards structured implementation of sovereign AI, the transition from pilot programmes to scaled national platforms will depend on addressing foundational gaps in skills, data governance and infrastructure capacity.
