Russian government draft would force business onto sovereign AI models, currently only GigaChat
A draft government resolution would require companies and state bodies in government, healthcare, education and critical infrastructure to use so-called sovereign AI models - built end-to-end by a Russian legal entity on Russian infrastructure - whenever they cost no more than 1.5x a national model. Only Sber's GigaChat currently meets the sovereign bar; Yandex's Alice AI would qualify as national via its open-source components. Yandex and MTS Web Services warned the rule risks leaving critical sectors without fit-for-purpose models, and Sber and the digital ministry said the list is a compilation of working-group proposals, not settled policy.
Why it matters
Would effectively hand Sber a regulated advantage in Russian public-sector and CII AI procurement and reshape the whole domestic model market.
Importance: 3/5
Draft regulation that would reshape the entire Russian AI model market; 2 independent primary sources