LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 14, 2026--
The sovereign AI market is booming, but many providers using the "sovereign" label cannot back up their claims, according to new research from Omdia.
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Sovereign AI: A Playbook for Success evaluates the terms of service, service level agreements, data processing agreements, privacy practices and certifications of 35 sovereign AI providers in 20 countries. These include frontier AI labs, hyperscalers, data center firms, neoclouds and telecom operators.
Omdia found that sovereignty is often little more than a marketing adjective meaning local assets:
"No one is regulating who can call themselves a sovereign AI provider, and it shows," said Camille Mendler, Research Director, Telco B2B at Omdia. "Local hosting is not sovereignty. Serious providers must demonstrate their credibility through transparent operations, fair contracts and proof of competence. That includes the network, because data in transit must be sovereign too."
Sovereignty is shifting IT budgets. Up to 45% of large enterprises plan to add or replace an ICT supplier for sovereignty or compliance reasons within 18 months.
One in five large and multinational enterprises already mandates network sovereignty safeguards, and these firms rank telecom operators as their most trusted AI partner.
Small and medium-sized enterprises with skeleton IT teams are potentially most at risk, as few have resources to examine sovereignty claims.
Omdia recommends that providers invest in certification and trust centers, publish separate SLAs for connectivity and AI services, and seek partners that can help fill competency gaps.
What will shape your business in 2027? Explore Omdia’s The Forces Shaping 2027 for research and insights on AI monetization, supply chain disruption, digital sovereignty, and physical AI, and the opportunities and challenges they present for the year ahead.
ABOUT OMDIA
Omdia, part of TechTarget, Inc. d/b/a Informa TechTarget (Nasdaq: TTGT), is a technology research and advisory group. Our deep knowledge of tech markets grounded in real conversations with industry leaders and hundreds of thousands of data points, make our market intelligence our clients’ strategic advantage. From R&D to ROI, we identify the greatest opportunities and move the industry forward.
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ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV spent a tranquil night in Rome's Gemelli hospital following an operation to remove the lower lobe of his right lung and a confirmed cancer diagnosis, the Vatican said in a statement Wednesday.
The Vatican said more information would be provided later in the day.
Tests confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said late Tuesday in a medical bulletin after the surgery. It said the diagnosis had been suspected by preoperative tests and was confirmed during surgery.
The medical bulletin made no mention of treatment going forward, and the Vatican said doctors were not currently speaking of chemotherapy or other therapies pending the results of other tests. The Vatican press office noted the medical statement spoke of the “radical” removal of the lobe as an indication that doctors removed all suspect tissue in hopes of removing any lingering traces of the cancer.
Leo’s lymph nodes also would have been removed and tested, to determine if the cancer had spread, and there was no word yet on those test results.
“Adenocarcinoma is the most common (type of lung cancer), also with the most favorable prognosis,” said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. “While we know the diagnosis, we now need to know the stage.”
“We now need to know how big it is, how many spots in the lung are involved. Is it just one nodule, or more than one, and the lymph nodes, are they cancerous?” Liu said.
If the cancer has spread, more tests will be needed to determine what kind of therapy to pursue, he said. Options include chemotherapy, a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy or targeted therapy, which involves oral pills for specific cancers.
Until that happens, it will remain unclear what the implications are for the pope’s long-term health; several experts told the AP an individual’s underlying health and fitness will be key determinants.
The 71-year-old was in the operating room for about three hours, the Vatican statement said on Tuesday. The surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes.
“The surgery was successful, and there were no complications,” the statement said, adding that the pope later returned to his room.
The right lung has three sections or lobes while the left has two. After one lobe is removed, the remainder of the lung can gradually compensate, especially in otherwise healthy and physically active people.
Leo had walked into the Gemelli hospital through the main entrance earlier in the day and waved to dozens of well-wishers who had gathered to greet him. The Vatican said the surgery would be performed by a team led by Gemelli’s chief thoracic surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora.
The American pontiff has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy. He revealed the discovery of the localized nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and said he would have it removed.
Oncologists said prior to the operation that even if the nodule turned out to be cancerous, Leo’s prognosis would be “excellent” since it would have been removed at an early stage.
The Vatican on Monday canceled all Leo’s audiences through Oct. 20.
While Gemelli has a specific papal apartment that past popes have used, complete with a private chapel on the 10th floor, Leo will actually be staying in a nearby room since the papal apartment is undergoing renovations, according to the Vatican press office.
There was no word on whether Leo would be able to keep his planned trip to South America next month.
Oncology surgeons often advise patients not to fly for three weeks after surgery — which would give the pope just the interval needed to make his planned Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, depending on his recovery.
The current itinerary for the trip is ambitious and the longest of his papacy to date, calling for Leo to clock just over 31,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) on a dozen flights and two helicopter rides, and a significant altitude change in Peru.
“If it is stage 1, he can complete these trips. If more treatment is needed, I would likely advise against the trips,” said Liu, who is not involved in the pope's care.
Barry reported from Milan. Associated Press writer Lauran Neergaard in Washington contributed to this report.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Medical Director Andrea Cambieri, right, receives Pope Leo XIV as he arrives at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, where he's expected to be operated to remove a lung nodule. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
An image of Pope Leo XIV rests at the base of a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where Leo is hospitalized for surgery to remove a lung nodule, in Rome, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
