Sovereign AI: Why Nations Are Building Their Own Models

What happens when AI stops being just infrastructure - and becomes a matter of national identity and global power? In this episode, a16z’s Anjney Midha and Guido Appenzeller explore the rise of sovereign AI—the idea that countries must own their own AI models, data centers, and value systems. From Saudi Arabia’s $100B+ AI ambitions to the cultural stakes of model alignment, we examine: - Why nations are building local “AI factories” instead of relying on U.S. cloud providers - How foundation models are becoming instruments of soft power - What the DeepSeek release tells us about China’s AI strategy - Whether the world needs a “Marshall Plan for AI” - And how open-source models could reshape the balance of power AI isn’t just a technology anymore - it’s geopolitical infrastructure. This conversation maps the new battleground.