123
countries co-sponsored the UN’s first AI safety resolution in March 2024
Source:Associated Press
Designing Sovereign AI Strategies
Sovereign AI: Strategies for Nations and Organizations
BTR helps governments and institutions define how AI should serve their people—turning national context into clear, buildable strategies that trusted partners can execute. We maintain direct access to frontier model and cloud providers, focus on strategy first, run pilots where they validate or refine strategy, and guide implementation through aligned partners.
Proven in Iceland. Expanding globally.
Strategy, pilots, and partners stay in lockstep.
We translate national priorities into living specifications, validate with evidence-driven pilots, and coordinate trusted partners so delivery teams—from ministries to frontier model vendors—are aligned from day one.
- Blueprints that codify sovereign policy, data stewardship, and risk controls.
- Pilot programmes designed to prove strategy and surface evidence before scale.
- Partner governance that keeps strategic partners aligned to sovereign objectives.
Strategic Partners
Working with the leading AI ecosystem
We maintain active NDAs, MOUs, and standing working sessions with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Cloud, AWS, NVIDIA, and other frontier vendors so policy, pilots, and delivery teams stay aligned.
Our mandate; ensure every nation and institution can design, govern, and benefit from AI on its own terms.
Why Sovereign AI Matters Now
Every nation needs a strategy before it builds.
188
governments benchmarked for AI readiness in the 2024 Oxford Insights index
Source:Oxford Insights
59%
OECD governments have a public-sector data strategy; just 56% of agencies use shared interoperability systems
65%
organizations already deploy generative AI in at least one function—roughly double 2023 adoption
Source:McKinsey State of AI 2024
The strategic gap
Most governments now recognize the need for AI policy, yet fewer than half have translated ambition into coordinated implementation. Ministries, agencies, and vendors push forward in parallel, but without a shared specification they rarely align.
The cost of improvisation
Fragmented pilots create technical debt, increase dependency on external vendors, and dilute public trust. Without a living strategic framework, it becomes impossible to scale initiatives or safeguard national data assets.
Why it matters now
Private-sector adoption continues to compound, widening the capability gap for nations without clear plans. Sovereign AI requires proactive design—context-driven guardrails that ensure every build advances national priorities.
Strategy is the system. Pilots should serve strategy—not replace it.
Our Strategic Process
Turning context into clarity—and clarity into code.
BTR specializes in the upstream and sustaining phases of Sovereign AI—ensuring every build is anchored in strategy. We stay embedded from discovery through scale so strategy becomes a living system, not a static plan.
We work shoulder-to-shoulder with ministries, delivery partners, and frontier model vendors, translating national objectives into specifications that hold up during implementation. Every phase feeds the next, keeping strategy, partners, and delivery aligned.
Our partnerships are grounded in detailed case-study libraries contributed by leading vendors, giving ministries evidence for policy decisions and showing technology teams where impact is feasible today.
“We do pilots to prove strategy—not the other way around.”
- 1
Phase 1: Discover
Map national priorities, governance, capabilities, and constraints to understand the true operating context.
- 2
Phase 2: Define
Translate insight into a strategic specification that directs vendors, safeguards data, and aligns ministries.
- 3
Phase 3: Partner
Coordinate ministries and trusted implementers around shared objectives, governance, and delivery metrics.
- 4
Phase 4: Validate
Run tightly scoped pilots to prove or refine strategy before scaling, capturing evidence and adjustments.
- 5
Phase 5: Sustain
Govern AI systems as enduring national assets with continuous adaptation, measurement, and accountability.
Team & Experience
Led by Josh Klein, powered by global collaborations
BTR is led by strategist Josh Klein, whose work spans national governments, multilateral agencies, and the world’s leading technology institutions. For more than two decades he has translated emerging technology into policy, organisational change, and responsible deployment.
Josh brings together partners across sectors to create sovereign AI frameworks that balance innovation with governance, public trust, and economic value.
We actively coordinate with leading model and cloud partners—including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Cloud, AWS, and NVIDIA—while sustaining long-running relationships with multinational enterprises and agencies such as the CIA, FBI, and ODNI.
Proof of Approach
From pilots to national impact.
Beyond pilots, BTR designs the frameworks that keep results aligned to national priorities. Engagements range from education and workforce development to AI governance and institutional capacity building. We maintain an extensive library of partner case studies that illustrates how ministries, divisions, and enterprises can harness AI to leapfrog their current state, informed by real deployments. Our Sovereign AI Model captures the operating blueprint we use to move from discovery to implementation.
Engagement
Iceland — AI for Educators
Coordinated ministry representatives, educators, and technology partners to design one of the first national pilots for co-developing support for teachers in the responsible use of classroom AI.
Engagement
Zanzibar — National AI Strategy
Co-creating a national AI strategy and capacity roadmap that grounds emerging technology adoption in sustainable development goals for an island nation.
Next steps
Start a conversation with BTR
BTR delivers sovereign AI strategy as a continuous practice—discovering truth on the ground, defining actionable frameworks, validating with pilots, and guiding implementation with trusted partners. Complete the form below to start the conversation.