Tech
What’s behind Europe’s efforts to ditch US software in favor of sovereign tech
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is far less vocal about his worldviews than Palantir’s Alex Karp. And yet, France is taking steps to reduce its reliance on Windows, while its domestic intelligence agency recently renewed its contract with the increasingly controversial data analytics company.
This paradox is representative of Europe’s messy breakup with U.S. tech. After painful realizations that it comes with strings attached, governments across the region are looking to rely less on American providers. But the steps taken so far have been uneven and often reactive.
The CLOUD Act changed the equation
One change Europe is reacting to dates back to the first Trump presidency. Enacted in 2018, the CLOUD Act forces U.S.-based tech companies to comply with law enforcement requests for data even if the information is stored abroad. This means that even servers located on European soil are no longer enough reassurance when critical data is concerned.
Of all the information that governments sit on, health data is arguably among the most sensitive. Still, the CLOUD Act’s extraterritorial reach didn’t stop the U.K. from striking deals with the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Palantir around data from its National Health Service (NHS) during the pandemic. But if critics have their way, it may end up following France’s lead.
One year ago, the French government announced that its Health Data Hub would be leaving Microsoft Azure in favor of a “sovereign cloud.” This contract has now been awarded to Scaleway, a French cloud provider with a rapidly expanding network of data centers across Europe.
A subsidiary of French group iliad, Scaleway was also one of four providers that won a €180 million sovereign cloud tender from the European Commission (approximately $211 million). AWS European Sovereign Cloud, which Amazon launched to address Europe’s concerns, is not on the list. However, some worry that the U.S. may still have a backdoor due to one winner using S3NS, a “trusted cloud” joint venture between Thales and Google Cloud.
Europe’s alternatives still face steep odds
It wouldn’t be the first time that solutions championed as alternatives to Big Tech face issues caused by their underlying dependencies. Qwant, for instance, was once recommended as the default search engine for public servants in France while relying on Microsoft’s Bing — a partnership that went sour when the French company accused the U.S. giant of abusing its position. The relevant watchdog declined to take action, but Qwant had already made its own move.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
Joining forces with German nonprofit Ecosia, Qwant launched Staan, a Europe-based and privacy-focused search index that could help search engines like theirs reduce their dependency on Google and Bing. But both partners still lag far behind their U.S. rivals in notoriety and reach — even the slightly more popular Ecosia has only about 20 million users, not billions.
Capturing market share is arguably the main issue facing companies challenging U.S. giants — but public contracts could give them a leg up. For instance, the European Commission’s tender will also benefit French cloud providers Clever Cloud and OVHCloud, as well as STACKIT, which Lidl’s parent company Schwarz Group created for its own needs but now commercializes.
The perspective of winning large contracts with European institutions could encourage other players to follow the footsteps of Germany’s retail heavyweight, or at least, that’s the hope. According to its promoters, “an additional goal of the tender was to encourage the market to offer sovereign digital solutions that comply with EU laws and values.”
However, the Commission’s choice to avoid overreliance on a single provider could be a double-edged sword. On one end, diversification could provide more resilience and soothe dependence concerns. On the other hand, it won’t be the best shortcut to fostering Europe’s next trillion-dollar company.
To cynics and pragmatists, sovereign tech may look business-motivated — a way to ensure that euros stay home. But Europe’s conscious uncoupling from U.S. tech hasn’t always translated into contracts for its startups. For instance, France is ditching Windows for the open source operating system Linux. Institutions in Austria, Denmark, Italy, and Germany are similarly looking to replace Microsoft’s suite of products with open source alternatives, such as LibreOffice.
This switch sometimes goes alongside a “build, don’t buy” philosophy that has raised criticism. France’s Court of Auditors has questioned spending on in-house tools such as Visio, a purported replacement for Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Financial newspaper Les Echos also reported on backlash voiced across the tech ecosystem, including this rhetorical question: “If the government doesn’t lead by example, how can you expect large private companies to follow?”
Private buyers may decide the outcome
As a matter of fact, large private companies haven’t followed much. German airline Lufthansa chose Elon Musk-backed Starlink for its Wi-Fi service. So did Air France, now also a private airline but still partly controlled by the French and Dutch states — and there’s a chance that France’s state-owned railway operator SNCF may do the same.
Whether large companies choose alternatives over U.S. providers depends in large part on having technologically compelling European options. In a spat with Poland, Musk stated that “there is no substitute for Starlink” — but European governments intend to prove him wrong. Public sentiment could also play a role, and might not stop at many European individuals and officials leaving X.
Not being American is becoming an advantage
After President Trump threatened to take control of Greenland, apps for boycotting American products surged to the top of the Danish App Store — a sign that demand to cut back on U.S. tech is getting broader. Pressure on European governments to reconsider their contracts is also mounting, and Palantir’s latest mini-manifesto is unlikely to help its cause in the EU and the U.K.
Tech billionaires publicly defending views that many Europeans don’t share is also a sign that the divorce is two-sided. When Meta chose to delay the EU launch of Threads over concerns with European law, it was also a reminder that the region is only a secondary market for tech giants, and that they can afford to ignore it.
Conversely, this creates a market opportunity for solutions built for Europe, its many languages, and cultural nuances. This alone should naturally foster demand in their home markets, with an extra boost if supporters of the EuroStack initiative manage to make it mandatory for Europe’s public sector to buy local.
Europe may want to buy European, but there’s also hope that “sovereign tech” will sell abroad. Mistral AI reportedly saw its revenues surge for being an alternative to OpenAI. Meanwhile, the Canadian and German governments are supporting Cohere’s merger with Aleph Alpha to create a “transatlantic AI powerhouse” serving businesses and governments around the world. In 2026, not being American — nor Chinese or Russian — is increasingly a selling point.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Tech
Snapchat brings AI-powered conversational advertising to its app
Snapchat announced on Tuesday that it’s rolling out “AI Sponsored Snaps,” which will allow users to interact directly with brands’ AI agents. Sponsored Snaps are the ads placed directly into the app’s main Chat tab. Until now, users couldn’t interact with these ads, but with the launch of AI Sponsored Ads, they’ll be able to do things like ask questions and get recommendations.
Of course, not everyone will be on board with AI-sponsored ads, as they introduce AI into yet another part of the Snapchat experience. Plus, not everyone is eager for more advanced advertising.
However, Snapchat said in a blog post that its “community isn’t just open to AI in conversation, they’re already embracing it,” given that over half a billion users have messaged its AI chatbot since it launched in 2023.
“Conversation is becoming the most valuable real estate in advertising,” said Ajit Mohan, Chief Business Officer at Snap, in the blog post. “AI is accelerating that shift, turning chat into the place where people discover products, ask questions, and make decisions in real time. The real opportunity isn’t just putting ads into those environments, it’s designing formats that feel native to how people already talk.”
For brands, the new AI Sponsored Snaps give them access to Snapchat’s nearly one billion monthly active users. They can bring their own AI agents onto the platform to drive engagement and purchases.
Snapchat says the new format builds on the momentum of Sponsored Snaps, which already drive 22% more conversions with nearly 20% lower cost per action. With the new format, they can engage users through personalized, AI-powered interactions right where they’re already having conversations.
The company says 85% of users engage regularly in the Chat feed, and that users sent over 950 billion chats in Q1 2026 alone. Additionally, 57% of teen Snapchat users message others daily, including 4 in 10 who do so several times a day.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Tech
Apple introduces a cheaper option for App Store subscriptions
Apple is giving App Store developers a new way to attract subscribers with lower-priced plans tied to a yearlong commitment. The company announced on Monday it will introduce a new subscription option that lets customers pay for their auto-renewing subscriptions on a monthly basis, while committing to a 12-month plan. This model will allow developers to offer discounted rates to customers in exchange for more predictable long-term revenue.
This also caters to how many developers have already been marketing their annual subscriptions in their apps. Often, app developers will display the lower monthly price to highlight the discount the customer would receive if they purchase the annual subscription instead of the monthly option. If the user is on the fence about a longer-term commitment, the notion that they’re getting a better deal can help to push them toward the annual option.
Now, Apple is essentially formalizing what these developers were already doing, which allows it to also craft a set of policies around how these subscription offers are to be displayed so as not to mislead customers about the true cost of the deals.
However, the option will not be available to developers in the United States or Singapore at launch. While Apple didn’t offer an explanation for this, it’s still in App Store litigation in the U.S. around the specifics of the court’s ruling in its case with Epic Games around how Apple can charge for subscriptions. Apple likely doesn’t want to complicate the matter further until that matter is finalized.
Singapore, meanwhile, also has a sophisticated payments market with strong consumer rules, which is why it may have been left out of the initial release.
Customers will be able to view additional information about the subscription before committing, including how their payments are structured and how cancellation works. Since the customers are agreeing to a 12-month commitment, they can cancel the subscription at any time, but monthly payments will still be deducted from their Apple account until the subscription term has ended.
Plus, Apple notes in its announcement, customers will be able to easily view how many completed and remaining payments they have left on a given subscription by looking at this information under their Apple Account. Apple will also send reminder emails and, if opted in, push notifications to remind customers ahead of their renewal dates about their upcoming purchases.
While the option will make it easier for customers to get a better deal on subscriptions, it could also lock them into longer-term plans if they are vigilant about their cancellations. Because these subscriptions auto-renew, a customer could end up accidentally agreeing to another 12-month commitment if they forgot to cancel it before the renewal is due.
Developers will be able to configure this new type of subscription in App Store Connect and test in Xcode. The new monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment will be available worldwide to customers on iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4, or later, and with the release of iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 in May.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Tech
Amazon’s new podcast strategy: Monetize everything
Amazon’s podcasting business has transformed over the past six months, according to The New York Times.
Back in August 2025, the company reportedly eliminated more than 100 jobs from its podcast studio Wondery. At the time, Amazon insisted it was not shutting Wondery down, and that appears to be technically true — it still uses the Wondery brand.
But the NYT said Amazon “took a sledgehammer” to the studio. Audio-only podcasts now operate under Audible, while a new department called Creator Services works with on-camera celebrities like Dax Shepard, Keke Palmer, and Jason and Travis Kelce.
For example, the company said it’s creating an “expanding universe” around the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights,” with monetization plans that go far beyond standard podcast ads. There’s a new section on Amazon called Kelce Clubhouse, where fans can buy “New Heights” merchandise, watch the documentary “Kelce,” and purchase recommended products for a football-watching party.
In the words of Creator Services general manager Matt Sandler, Amazon is trying to “infuse both the content and the commerce together.”
Of course, other online creators are also betting on commerce. But according to the NYT, Amazon is the only one that “dismembered a company” to get here.
World Series star Trey Yesavage rejoins Blue Jays to face Red Sox
Everything we know about Ted Lasso Season 4
