Sunrise and PHOENIQS enter into partnership – and offer sovereign Swiss AI with top data security for business customers

Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming a business-critical infrastructure for Swiss companies. Issues of control, regulatory requirements, sovereignty and security are becoming increasingly in focus. However, many AI platforms were designed for global scalability and speed, rather than for a highly regulated national environment where data security, transparency over data flows and clear legal requirements and responsibilities are essential.
With their exclusive strategic partnership, Sunrise and PHOENIQS are closing this gap for Swiss companies. Thanks to this partnership, Sunrise is the only Swiss telecom provider able to offer its business customers AI solutions that are developed, hosted and operated entirely within Switzerland – in line with the highest security standards, compliant with Swiss law, with no data transferred abroad and no reliance on foreign cloud services.
The planned offer is aimed at large enterprises, the public sector and SMEs, for example, in the finance, healthcare, administrative and energy sectors, and is tailored specially to the demanding requirements of regulated industries. There will be various modular, combinable components to meet the specific needs of companies. These AI components will also be available to the Sunrise B2B partner network (system integrators, IT service providers, etc.) so that they can be integrated and marketed within their own solutions.

«Artificial intelligence is becoming a core strategic infrastructure for businesses. With PHOENIQS, we're enabling our business customers to use powerful AI solutions that are operated entirely in Switzerland – without compromising on data protection, compliance or digital sovereignty. This sets us apart from the competition and means we can also offer our partner network an unbeatable competitive edge,» says Thorsten Haeser, Chief Business Officer at Sunrise.

«The partnership with Sunrise is a key step for us in making our AI infrastructure more widely available in the Swiss market. By integrating our services into B2B offers, we can reach companies of all sizes and in a variety of sectors, whilst still being able to focus entirely on our role as an infrastructure and technology provider,» emphasises Thomas Taroni, founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors at PHOENIQS.

The strategic partnership between Sunrise and PHOENIQS creates a new offer for business customers who wish to make productive use of artificial intelligence and demand high standards for location, operations and regulatory frameworks. The partnership is exclusively focused on Sunrise as a telecom provider and combines PHOENIQS’s expertise in AI infrastructure with the Sunrise access to the B2B market and its partner network.

The partnership is designed to be long-term and aims to make AI technology more widely available in Switzerland – without Sunrise itself becoming an AI infrastructure operator or PHOENIQS having to change its role as a technology provider. The product is due to be launched soon.

Sovereign AI meets strategic and regulatory requirements

When utilising AI, companies are increasingly faced with issues of data sovereignty, the regulatory framework and long-term control over data and workloads. In regulated sectors – such as finance and insurance, healthcare or the public sector – the requirements for AI applications such as generative AI, assistants and agents, the operation of language models via digital interfaces (application programming interfaces, APIs), the data and computing processes required for AI applications, and computer- and processor-based operations within the AI cloud are particularly high.

The offer, which is based on the partnership between Sunrise and PHOENIQS, specifically addresses these requirements by ensuring that the development, hosting and operation of the AI infrastructure take place exclusively in Switzerland, rather than on global cloud platforms outside the country. This ensures that no data is transferred to data centres abroad, that employees can access confidential business and customer data without it leaving Switzerland, and that it can't be used to train the various models. PHOENIQS’s Swiss data centres are operated solely in accordance with Swiss law.

A range of modules for varying needs

The planned offer will comprise various components which will address a range of requirements across the entire AI value chain – from ready-to-use applications and access to language models to infrastructure and secure connectivity. Sunrise will integrate these infrastructure services into its business-customer portfolio and provide them through its existing B2B solutions. Alongside direct business customers, the offer is also aimed at the Sunrise partner network. System integrators, IT service providers, software companies and sector specialists will be able to use the AI components as the basis for their own offers and solutions, combine them with existing products and resell them under their own brand.

Media Release (PDF)

PHOENIQS

Media Relations

contact@phoeniqs.swiss

0445008641

Sunrise

Media Relations

media@sunrise.net

0800 333 000

About PHOENIQS

PHOENIQS, based in Pfäffikon SZ, is a Swiss provider of sovereign cloud and AI infrastructure that enables companies to run data- and AI-driven workloads with full control, high security and in compliance with legal requirements. The company controls the entire technology stack – from hardware and operating system through to cloud infrastructure and AI platforms – thereby ensuring complete digital sovereignty and independence from extraterritorial legislation. PHOENIQS serves businesses and public-sector organisations across Europe in highly regulated and security-critical environments, including the financial sector, healthcare, research and public administration.

https://phoeniqs.com/

About Sunrise

Sunrise Communications AG («Sunrise»), with its strong position as the number two player, is the leading challenger in the Swiss telecom market and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SUNN).

With the most comprehensive fixed-line access and a world-class mobile network, Sunrise offers the widest gigabit coverage in Switzerland, is renowned for its premium quality and is ideally positioned for growth. Through its outstanding, future-proof networks, Sunrise offers private customers high-quality mobile, landline, broadband and TV services, and supports business customers with single-source 360° communication and integrated ICT solutions for connectivity, security and IoT, helping them to drive their digital transformation.