Sharon AI signs 600-petabyte sovereign AI deal with VAST

Sharon AI has signed a deal with VAST Data to deploy 600 petabytes of software across its sovereign AI cloud infrastructure, in what the companies describe as one of the largest sovereign AI data deployments in Asia-Pacific.

Under the agreement, VAST Data's AI operating system will become the main data layer for Sharon AI's infrastructure, which serves government, enterprise, research and AI-focused customers in Australia and across the region. Sharon AI said the deployment is equivalent to about 300 million hours of HD video storage.

The deal comes during a period of expansion for the Australian cloud computing group, which has also signed a six-year agreement with Nvidia and is preparing for an anticipated listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. It also builds on VAST Data's recent activity in Australia and New Zealand following a separate agreement with Megaport.

Sharon AI said the 600-petabyte deployment could support the data requirements of about 100,000 graphics processing units, based on an industry benchmark of roughly 6 petabytes of AI storage for every 1,000 GPUs running large-scale workloads. That would place the project among the larger sovereign AI infrastructure builds in the region, as governments and regulated industries seek to keep data onshore.

Sovereign focus

The agreement targets a part of the AI market where data residency and control are critical. Sovereign cloud services are designed to keep sensitive information within national borders and under local governance rules, while still providing the computing resources needed for AI model training and inference.

For Sharon AI, the appeal lies in demand from sectors where the location, access and movement of data can be as important as processing capacity. Its customer base includes government, research institutions and enterprises, all of which may face stricter rules on privacy, security and operational oversight.

The deployment also reflects a broader shift in AI infrastructure planning. As organisations invest in large language models, data-intensive analytics and automated systems, storage architecture has become a strategic issue alongside access to chips and data centre power.

The software will provide a shared data foundation for multiple customers using the same cloud environment. Sharon AI cited features including multi-tenancy, customer isolation, service guarantees, resilience and monitoring tools for managing very large datasets.

VAST Data said its architecture is designed to avoid the bottlenecks that can emerge when very large AI workloads access shared data. Its system uses a single global namespace so processors can reach data without moving copies between different storage pools.

Market backdrop

The agreement comes as Australian technology groups and policymakers push for more domestic AI infrastructure rather than relying entirely on overseas cloud providers. That has created openings for operators that can combine local hosting with enough scale to support advanced AI workloads.

Sharon AI is positioning itself in that market as a local operator with sovereign cloud infrastructure for customers that want data to remain in Australia or within the Asia-Pacific region. The tie-up with VAST Data strengthens its technical base as it seeks to win more contracts in regulated and data-sensitive sectors.

For VAST Data, the partnership adds a large regional customer in a market where demand for AI infrastructure is rising. The company has been building its presence in Australia and New Zealand, and the Sharon AI deal gives it a substantial reference point in sovereign cloud deployments.

James Manning, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sharon AI, set out the company's position on customer demand. "Our customers refuse to choose between keeping their data sovereign and running AI at full speed - they need both at the highest level," Manning said. "Standardising on the VAST AI Operating System at this unprecedented 600PB scale gives us exactly that: a rock-solid, high-performance foundation we can scale confidently as demand for sovereign AI across Australia and Asia-Pacific accelerates. This is how we build Australia's AI future - powerful, secure, and proudly local."

Renen Hallak, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of VAST Data, described the role of data infrastructure in AI systems. "Every breakthrough Sharon AI enables - in research, medicine, industry, or national capability - runs on data, and it only moves as fast and safely as the foundation beneath it," Hallak said. "As the data foundation for Sharon AI's sovereign cloud, we are proud to partner with them to support Australia's hardest and most strategic AI ambitions. The VAST AI OS turns massive data estates into real-time intelligence assets, all while respecting sovereign boundaries. This is the future of AI infrastructure."