Google Cloud has opened its first sovereign cloud hub in Munich, Germany, aiming to provide European organisations with dedicated resources for meeting data sovereignty and regulatory requirements.

The facility operates alongside Google Cloud’s existing security and privacy engineering centre. It is intended as a technical space for customers and partners to directly evaluate and test the firm’s sovereign cloud offerings.

The hub allows regional clients, especially those in regulated sectors such as government and healthcare, to engage in hands-on demonstrations relating to data residency, operational transparency, and software integrity.

Companies can also collaborate with Google Cloud engineers through proof-of-concept projects and access training programmes designed to facilitate the deployment and management of sovereign cloud environments.

Local experts and partners will be available to assist with integration and compliance processes specific to different jurisdictions.

Google Cloud reported that its sovereign solutions, including Data Boundary, Dedicated, and Air Gapped products, provide organisations with tools for maintaining compliance while deploying workloads in the cloud.

The company maintains collaborations with operators such as Accenture, Clarence in Belgium and Luxembourg, Minsait in Spain, NTT DATA, Schwarz Group and T-Systems in Germany, Telecom Italia, Thales’s S3NS in France, and World Wide Technology in the US.

It also partners with CNTXT in Saudi Arabia and KDDI in Japan to extend these solutions globally.

Organisations such as University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) are already using Google’s sovereign cloud infrastructure for localised workload deployment through regional partners.

Google Cloud Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) North vice president Marianne Janik said: “The key to unlocking Europe’s future is AI.

“The sovereign cloud hub will provide a unique setting for our European customers and partners to experience our industry-leading sovereign cloud and AI solutions, get trained, and develop advanced prototypes, while ensuring they meet regulatory compliance.”

Separately, Google introduced Private AI Compute, a platform that employs Gemini models for cloud-based AI processing while retaining strict privacy controls.

Private AI Compute enables the use of Gemini cloud models for AI tasks while keeping personal data private and inaccessible to others, including Google.

Google said that these moves align with its ongoing focus on developing AI tools that comply with regulatory standards while prioritising privacy and security concerns.

The Alphabet subsidiary recently announced a €5.5bn ($6.3bn) investment programme in Germany, set to take place between 2026 and 2029. The initiative will focus on expanding the company’s data centre infrastructure and office space across the country.