Amazon Unleashes Europe-Only Cloud In $9 Billion Expansion Push

By Lekha Gupta | January 15, 2026, 6:00 AM

Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing arm of Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), on Thursday disclosed the launch of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, a standalone cloud environment built exclusively within the European Union and fully separated, both physically and logically, from other AWS regions.

Details

The AWS European Sovereign Cloud has launched its first AWS region in Brandenburg, Germany, marking a major long-term investment by Amazon.

The company plans to invest more than 7.8 billion euros (about $9 billion) in Germany, supporting roughly 2,800 jobs annually.

The platform operates independently and includes strong technical safeguards, sovereign controls, and legal protections, which are designed to serve European governments and businesses handling sensitive data.

The AWS European Sovereign Cloud combines comprehensive, layered controls to provide a robust solution for customers who need to meet strict digital sovereignty requirements while ensuring they still benefit from the breadth of AWS cloud and AI innovation.

The platform delivers the full AWS experience, including the same security, performance, architecture, APIs, and innovations such as the AWS Nitro System, and launches with 90+ services spanning AI, compute, databases, networking, security, and storage.

Investment Plan

AWS also plans to expand the sovereign cloud beyond Germany to other EU countries to meet strict data residency, isolation, and low-latency needs, beginning with new sovereign AWS Local Zones in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal.

AWS also intends to expand the sovereign cloud to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal, investing in advanced cloud and AI infrastructure to support local growth, innovation, and productivity while meeting strict data residency and low-latency needs.

European public-sector and regulated-industry customers—including EWE AG, MUL-CT, and Sanoma Learning—have already adopted the service, with partners such as Accenture, Deloitte, Nvidia, SAP, and Capgemini committed to supporting solutions on the AWS European Sovereign Cloud.

Stéphane Israël, managing director of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud and digital sovereignty, added, “Customers want the best of both worlds – they want to be able to use AWS’s full portfolio of cloud and AI services while ensuring they can meet their stringent sovereignty requirements. By building a cloud that is European in its infrastructure, operations, and governance, we’re empowering organisations to innovate with confidence while maintaining complete control over their digital assets.”

New Zealand Expansion

In September 2025, Amazon.com invested 7.5 billion New Zealand dollars ($4.4 billion) in expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in New Zealand, marking a significant regional expansion.

Amazon is also significantly increasing its investments in the Asia-Pacific, committing more than $50 billion to strengthen digital infrastructure across Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

AMZN Price Action: Amazon.com shares were up 0.74% at $238.40 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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