Technological sovereignty for BRICS countries has ceased being a slogan and is becoming part of the practical agenda. The association is forming its own cloud platforms, digital services, and financial systems built on the principles of security and trust. Essentially, we are talking here about creation of a new digital space where technology is becoming a tool for sustainable development and mutual benefit, rather than dependence on external players, believes Anastasia Kabaeva, Partner in Digital Transformation at TeDo.
Technological development is becoming a key factor in national economic competitiveness. Technological sovereignty today does not mean isolation but countries and companies’ ability independently to develop critical infrastructure, manage data, and create solutions that ensure resilience and efficiency.
This topic is of particular importance for BRICS countries, each of which is following its own digital transformation path, but they are united in aspiring for technological independence and being ready to cooperate. So, one promising area for cooperation could be generative AI. It is no coincidence that, at the October 2024 BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed setting up a BRICS+AI Alliance to coordinate AI technology development approaches between Russia and the rest of BRICS+. BRICS is gradually forming an architecture for technological collaboration, relying on internal resources, scientific schools, and joint projects.
The main challenges in this area relate to ensuring the resilience of digital infrastructure, data protection, reduced dependence on foreign solutions, and greater efficiency of financial and management processes. At the same time, many countries face a need to update their technological base, build a trusted digital environment, and find new approaches to collaboration between the state, business, and science.
The response to these challenges consists of systemic steps: creating reliable infrastructure and cybersecurity mechanisms, transitioning from fragmented IT outsourcing to platform models, developing proprietary solutions primarily for financial services, as well as implementing AI and quantum technologies. Equally important is formation of personnel skills and unified regulatory principles providing for long-term sustainability.
It is these areas that now determine how ready the BRICS countries are not only to use but also to create the technologies that will shape the economy during the next decade. Let’s look at each of these areas separately.
Any digital economy relies on the basic infrastructure: computing power, communication channels, cloud platforms and security systems. According to Spherical Insights, the global market for cloud solutions for technological and financial services will grow from USD 25 billion in 2023 to USD 225 billion by 2033, reflecting a steady growth of approximately 24–25% a year. As far as the BRICS market is concerned, it was estimated at USD 3.4 billion in 2023, with an expected growth to USD 12.9 billion over ten years.
BRICS is counting on developing its own infrastructure solutions. The New Development Bank (NDB) launched a USD 5 billion Digital Sovereignty Fund for supporting data centres, developing edge infrastructure, and producing semiconductors within the bloc. Russia and India are investing in creating regional clouds and secure data processing platforms. Recent examples of such initiatives include construction of the Skolkovo‑3 data centre in Russia and the Digital India Cloud initiative.
China is developing a satellite and an optical infrastructure to provide independent data transmission channels. For example, under the China Space-Ground Integrated Network programme, satellites are being deployed for secure data transmission and global positioning. The East-West Computing Corridor project unites regional cloud clusters in a single national network.
The focus on infrastructure is related not only to security but also efficiency. Reliable channels and proprietary capacities ensure predictability, transparency, and data control, which are key conditions for further development of digital services.
While infrastructure ensures resilience, platform solutions create applied value. In recent years, BRICS countries have been transitioning from classical IT outsourcing to a platform independence model where development, infrastructure, and support are combined within a single technological circuit.
In Russia, a market has formed for import-independent solutions: ERP, CRM, BI, and treasury systems, such as Arena Data, NAUMEN, or Global ERP. These products are becoming competitive and in demand among BRICS partners.
The format of “platform outsourcing” is gaining popularity, with the provider ensuring not only a software solution but also a service ecosystem: updates, tailoring to national requirements, and technical support. For example, the SberBusiness and VK Cloud Solutions ecosystems provide clients not just with cloud services but with a full management cycle, from integration into internal systems to support and analytics.
Similar processes are also taking place in other BRICS countries, relying on local technology companies. For instance, in India, the Tata Consultancy Services platform (TCS BaNCS) is used in more than 45 countries and is becoming a regional standard for banking and insurance systems. China is actively promoting the Huawei Cloud and Alibaba Cloud corporate ecosystems, adapted for the industrial and public sectors, with modules for data management and analytics.
Also worth mentioning it South Africa, where the Dimension Data platform is developing, integrating solutions for IT outsourcing, cloud, and cybersecurity for African markets.
At the same time, the focus is shifting from development itself to ensuring stable platform operation, prioritizing digital platform reliability and data management quality. For example, in the fintech segment, according to KPMG’s Pulse of Fintech data, more than a third of investments in corporate technologies in 2025 will be in data protection solutions.
Financial technologies are becoming one of the most actively developing areas in the BRICS countries. Development of fintech platforms and digital currencies means new mechanisms can be built for settlements and liquidity, independent of traditional international systems.
Initiatives such as BRICS Pay and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilots in Russia, India, and South Africa are being developed within the bloc. The aim of these projects is to simplify cross-border settlements and reduce transaction costs.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global market for fintech services will reach USD 395 billion in 2025, with an average annual growth of about 16% (for BRICS countries, the relevant figures are approximately USD 75.5 billion and 16.3%). In this context, fintech is becoming a tool for increasing the efficiency, transparency, and resilience of financial processes.
Russian companies are developing solutions in the field of AI treasury, risk analytics, and anti-fraud monitoring, which are in demand among partners in the bloc. For example, the YooKassa payment aggregator is expanding its integration functionality with international systems, including WeChat Pay and UnionPay, this facilitating mutual settlements between Russian and Chinese businesses. In other BRICS countries, the Indian UPI platform, supporting instant payments between Asian and BRICS countries, and the Chinese AliPay ecosystem, which is becoming an element of cross-border digital settlements within BRICS Pay, are actively demonstrating their fintech infrastructure.
So, fintech is acting not only as a technological sphere but also as a platform for sharing experience and developing joint standards.
AI is becoming part of the business and public administration operating model. McKinsey estimates that 78% of companies worldwide are already using AI in at least one function, and the generative AI market volume will reach USD 62 billion in 2025.
For BRICS countries, this is a priority area for joint development. Russia, China, and India are setting up the BRICS AI Alliance as a platform for research, infrastructure projects, and development of regulatory standards.
Russia is developing the GigaChat line, China – the Baidu ERNIE and MOSS models, India – the BharatGPT initiative. Parallel work is under way in the field of quantum technologies: the Quantum BRICS project, the MSU Quantum Computing Centre, and the Chinese Mozi-II satellite.
These projects lay the technological foundations for long-term cooperation in the field of AI and quantum computing, where security, compatibility and development of the BRICS countries’ own competencies remain priorities.
Technological development is impossible without human capital and coordinated regulatory approaches. In 2025, the BRICS Digital Academy started working as an educational platform uniting universities from Russia, China, India, and Brazil. The purpose is to train specialists in the fields of AI, data analysis, cybersecurity, and quantum computing.
Meanwhile, the bloc’s countries are also developing principles for responsible development of AI.
At the 2025 BRICS summit in Brazil, a statement was signed on the need for a balance between innovation and social sustainability. The members of the association published a declaration on global AI governance emphasizing that all states have the right to access the benefits of the digital economy and developing technologies, including AI-based solutions. The position of the BRICS leaders is to encourage development of open AI models, support scientific and technological cooperation between countries, remove technological barriers, and reduce digital inequality.
So, the conditions are being created for creating a trusted environment for the exchange of technologies and knowledge.
Further development of technological cooperation within BRICS could proceed in several directions:
In practice, a combination of these approaches is possible. The main thing is to maintain a balance between national interests and common goals, ensuring transparency, compatibility, and mutual trust.
So, we can speak of gradually building a multi-level model for technological collaboration: from exchange at the level of knowledge and solutions to formation of a common digital space where the BRICS countries act as partners with complementary competencies. BRICS is beginning to exemplify a practical approach to technological development: by pooling resources, the countries are forming a resilient ecosystem where innovations work for long-term stability.
IT for the Global South
By 2028, the share of sales revenues in Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia could, for some Russian developers, exceed 30%. The most in-demand solutions are related to cybersecurity, fintech, and technologies for the public sector. Digitalization products, consulting, IT for the public sector, and fintech are of interest to Middle Eastern countries while Latin American states are keen on development of digital infrastructure and cloud services. In Iran, Ethiopia, and Egypt, the demand for Russian cybersecurity products has grown.
