For more than a decade, the cloud economy has been structured around a few dominant platforms. The digital infrastructures of thousands of companies today rely on the services of Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Google, whose investments in data centers and computing infrastructures amount to tens of billions of dollars each year.
Faced with these hyperscalers, European cloud players have long occupied more modest positions. Companies like OVHcloud, Scaleway or the German IONOS Cloud have built credible alternatives, but without reaching the industrial scale of the American giants.
For two years, a second front has opened in this competition, with the rise of generative artificial intelligence, which is transforming the structure of the market. Training and operating models requires considerable computing infrastructure, based on clusters of graphics processing units (GPUs) and very high-performance networks.
This new demand favors the emergence of players specializing in computing infrastructure for AI. Companies like Nscale or CoreWeave are focusing their investments on data centers designed to accommodate thousands of GPUs intended for training and inference of models.
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In this new environment, historic European clouds find themselves caught between two industrial dynamics, on the one hand the domination of hyperscalers and on the other the rise of operators specializing in intensive computing.
A restructuring of the cloud market
This transformation is not just a technological evolution and reflects a more profound change in the role of digital infrastructures.
The cloud has become the basis of critical systems: artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, industrial infrastructures, financial services or public platforms. Control of these infrastructures is gradually becoming a strategic issue comparable to that of energy networks or telecommunications.
In this context, the question of digital sovereignty is taking on increasing importance in Europe. Many organizations are looking to reduce their reliance on platforms subject to external jurisdictions. At the same time, the demand for computing power is exploding. The AI ​​economy introduces a new variable in the competition: the ability to quickly deploy infrastructure capable of supporting massive computing loads.
It is in this equation that European players must now position themselves.
Infomaniak is preparing a change of scale
After OVHCloud which wants to change scale, Infomaniak displays a new ambition which fits precisely in this context.
The Swiss company, historically known for its hosting services and cloud solutions for European companies and public organizations, is entering a new phase of development. It plans to invest approximately 200 million Swiss francs in its cloud infrastructures and artificial intelligence capabilities over the next few years.
In 2025, Infomaniak achieved nearly 62 million euros (56 million Swiss francs) turnoverwith growth of 50% in three years. Its workforce has grown significantly, now exceeding 300 employees.
These investments aim to strengthen the data centers operated by the company and to develop infrastructures capable of meeting the growing needs for computing power.
A strategy based on three pillars
To cope with the restructuring of the market, Infomaniak is focusing on several areas.
The first concerns data sovereignty. The company operates its infrastructures in Europe and highlights strong local mastery of its technologies and skills. This approach aims to address the growing concerns of some public and industrial organizations regarding security and regulatory compliance.
The second concerns adaptation to artificial intelligence workloads. In a market where computing power is becoming a determining factor, the company is seeking to strengthen its infrastructure in order to remain competitive against new players specializing in GPU clusters.
The third concerns the energy efficiency of data centers. Infomaniak highlights the use of renewable energies and the recovery of heat produced by its infrastructures to supply urban heating networks.
Strengthened governance to support growth
The transformation of the company is also reflected in the evolution of its governance. Infomaniak is strengthening its board of directors with the arrival of Paul Such, Swiss cybersecurity pioneer and CEO of Swiss Post Cybersecurity, as well as Patricia Solioz Mathys, former general director of public transport in the Lausanne region. They join founder and chairman Boris Siegenthaler and independent director Frank Guemara.
The question of scale
A central question remains: that of the industrial scale.
Hyperscalers have an investment capacity much greater than that of European players. At the same time, new AI infrastructure operators are focusing their resources on a specific technological segment, that of supercomputing.
In this landscape, European suppliers must find a positioning capable of supporting their growth. Some rely on data sovereignty, others on proximity to local businesses or the energy efficiency of their infrastructures.
Infomaniak’s strategy seems to seek to combine several of these dimensions: strengthening its technical capabilities while maintaining a sovereign and independent positioning, in order to build a sovereign cloud infrastructure, which is capable of meeting the new needs of a rapidly changing European market.
In a market now dominated by the computing war, can Europe’s historic players still have influence in the cloud economy?
