nLighten and Arqit prove you can use the public cloud without giving up sovereignty
LONDON and AMSTERDAM, July 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- nLighten, a European edge data centre platform, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQQ, ARQQW)) a global leader in PQC migration and quantum-safe encryption, today announced the successful completion of a joint proof of concept (POC), demonstrating how organisations can use public cloud services while maintaining control over sensitive data and cryptographic assets. For customers, the benefit is simple: they no longer have to choose between innovation and control. Organisations can take advantage of public cloud services, AI capabilities and on-demand scalability, while maintaining confidence that sensitive data remains protected, auditable and governed within a trusted European infrastructure foundation.
Conducted between nLighten's Geneva data centre and one of the largest hyperscalers in the world, the POC shows how a workload can operate in a public cloud environment while remaining anchored to a sovereign European infrastructure foundation. Customer data and cryptographic controls remain rooted within nLighten’s Geneva facility, while Arqit’s Symmetric Key Agreement Platform (SKA-Platform™) extends that trusted environment securely into the cloud.
The demonstration addresses a growing challenge for regulated organisations, including those in financial services, pharmaceuticals and the public sector. Public cloud platforms offer significant advantages in scale and flexibility, but many organisations remain concerned about maintaining sovereignty when sensitive workloads move beyond environments under their direct oversight.
Together, nLighten and Arqit provide organisations with a third option, enabling them to use public cloud capabilities while maintaining critical sovereignty controls through a physical, auditable European data centre. For customers, this means they can take advantage of cloud scalability, AI services and innovation platforms without moving their most sensitive assets outside a controlled European environment. The model helps organisations meet sovereignty, compliance and security requirements while accelerating digital transformation initiatives.
The POC combines nLighten’s sovereign European infrastructure with Arqit’s cryptographic technology and Intel Trust Domain Extensions (Intel TDX), the technology that isolates VMs or containers from access by outside software, unauthorized users or neighboring VMs in the public cloud. Workloads run inside this hardware-enforced confidential computing environments, helping protect data while it is being processed. Arqit’s quantum-safe encryption capabilities help protect data moving in or out of the cloud against future ' harvest-now-decrypt-later ' cryptographic threats.
Unlike models that primarily rely on contractual assurances or provider-specific sovereign cloud offerings, this approach is built around a physically sovereign data centre that organisations can identify and audit. nLighten provides the sovereign European foundation that makes cloud sovereignty possible, while Arqit extends those controls securely into the cloud environment.
As regulatory scrutiny around digital sovereignty continues to increase across Europe, the joint solution will support organisations seeking to strengthen their sovereignty posture against emerging frameworks, including the EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework, while continuing to benefit from cloud technologies. The model is planned to be replicated across nLighten's network of more than 30 edge data centres spanning seven European countries.
Dame Dawn Child, CEO at nLighten, said:
"Our customers increasingly want to leverage AI, analytics and cloud-native services, but many operate in highly regulated environments where data control is non-negotiable. This proof of concept demonstrates that organisations no longer have to choose between innovation and sovereignty. By anchoring workloads to a trusted European infrastructure foundation, they can achieve both."
Andy Leaver, CEO at Arqit, said: "Too often, organisations are told they have to choose between maintaining control of sensitive data and benefiting from the scale and innovation of the public cloud. What we've demonstrated with nLighten is that there is a third option. By combining a sovereign European infrastructure foundation with confidential computing and cryptographic controls, organisations can continue using public cloud services while retaining greater control over how their data is protected. Importantly, this approach provides technical assurance, not just contractual assurance, helping organisations strengthen their sovereignty posture without compromising innovation."
About nLighten
nLighten is a digital infrastructure platform focused on developing and operating innovative edge data centres across Europe’s key economic hubs. Its strategically distributed data centres deliver best-in-class network access to enterprises, private users, and the mobile workforce. nLighten is working towards establishing a pan-European presence in all major cities and smaller business hubs.
Its edge data centres are close, coupled, and connected: By being closer to customers and users, nLighten ensures low-latency access and high availability for businesses, mobile workforces, and private users. With a strong commitment to sustainability, nLighten’s data centres will be coupled with the local community, contributing to grid stability while minimizing environmental impact. Connected to an extensive network of carriers and service providers, nLighten empowers seamless, real-time data connectivity throughout Europe.
Founded in 2021 by a core team with years of experience and a wide-ranging expertise in the data centre industry and backed by I Squared Capital, a leading global infrastructure investor, nLighten is setting new standards for digital infrastructure in Europe.
About Arqit
Arqit Quantum Inc. (NASDAQ:ARQQ, ARQQW)) secures the world’s most critical data with quantum-safe encryption software. Simple, scalable, and compliant, its products integrate with existing infrastructure, and requires no rip and replace of hardware.
Arqit provides a complete "Detect, Protect, Comply" solution for governments and enterprises that detects and inventories cryptographic assets, protects data, ensures compliance, and safeguards transition to the post-quantum era.
Arqit’s primary product offerings are Encryption Intelligence and NetworkSecure™. Encryption Intelligence detects cryptographic exposure, identifies vulnerabilities, and maps dependencies. NetworkSecure™ protects data in transit with provably secure post-quantum cryptography and contributes to establishment of confidential compute environments for complete data sovereignty.
Arqit is an IDC Innovator for Post-Quantum Cryptography (2024) and a multi-award-winner in quantum-safe security. For more information, visit www.arqitgroup.com.
©Intel, the Intel logo and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.
For further information:
nLighten
Eva Bischoff
Director Marketing
Tel.: +49 170 3081972
E-Mail: marketing@nlighten.com
Web: https://www.nlighten.com/
APCO Worldwide (PR agency)
E-Mail: nlighten@apcoworldwide.com
Web: https://www.nlighten.com/
Arqit
Media relations enquiries
E-Mail: Arqit@brands2life.com
Investor relations enquiries
E-Mail: investorrelations@arqit.uk
