DFINITY Foundation unveils Cloud Engines, a sovereign cloud built to survive outages and attacks
The DFINITY Foundation has introduced Cloud Engines, a sovereign cloud platform built on the Internet Computer network designed to support AI applications and maintain operations during cyberattacks and data center outages.
The foundation aims to compete with major cloud providers by offering a platform that ensures data sovereignty and uninterrupted service. Organizations can create dedicated private subnets with a minimum of four nodes, choosing their preferred node providers and hardware configurations.
Applications run within canisters, which bundle code and state together. The platform includes features specifically designed for AI workloads, such as HTTPS outcalls for external web service connectivity and verifiable randomness for applications requiring provable fairness or unpredictability.
Token Economics
Cloud Engines operates under a tokenomics framework called Mission 70, which allocates 20% of revenue to purchasing and burning ICP tokens, while the remaining 80% goes to node providers. This structure aims to reduce ICP inflation from 9.72% to 2.92%.
The stated goal is to reduce ICP inflation from 9.72% to 2.92%.
Market Position
The project has been in development since at least 2014, with formal introduction in November 2025 as part of Internet Computer 2.0. DFINITY is targeting developers and enterprises currently using AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure, emphasizing data sovereignty and AI compatibility.
Early adoption metrics remain limited as the rollout continues. The early-access phase has begun, with developers receiving coupons through opencloud.org starting the week of November 10, 2026. The success of Cloud Engines will depend on its ability to attract enterprise and AI workloads and effectively execute its token burn mechanism.
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