The Linux Foundation Announces the Launch of NeoNephos to Advance Digital Autonomy in Europe

New Initiative Will Foster Collaboration and Innovation Around Open Cloud Infrastructure and Cloud-Native Technologies.

BRUSSELS, March 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Linux Foundation Europe, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source in Europe and around the world, today announced the official launch of the NeoNephos Foundation. This new initiative is dedicated to fostering collaboration and innovation around open cloud infrastructure, digital sovereignty, and next-generation cloud-native technologies in Europe.

NeoNephos, one of the first concrete open source outcomes of the IPCEI-CIS EU investment, emerges as a response to the growing demand for secure, scalable, and transparent cloud solutions that support European goals of digital sovereignty. By bringing together leading organizations, technology providers, and academic institutions, the foundation will serve as a hub for developing and promoting open source solutions that empower European enterprises and public sector entities.

"Linux Foundation Europe is proud to support the launch of NeoNephos, which represents a significant step forward in supporting Europe's cloud sovereignty goals through open source," said Gabriele Columbro, General Manager of Linux Foundation Europe. "By fostering an openly governed collaborative ecosystem, we can accelerate innovation by building and integrating with open source cloud native building blocks like Kubernetes, Sylva, and LF Networking projects. Together, we can leverage projects already hosted under the Linux Foundation global ecosystem, while ensuring alignment with regulatory and data protection requirements that are critical for European stakeholders."

NeoNephos will focus on several key areas, including:

• Cloud Infrastructure: Developing and promoting open, interoperable cloud technologies tailored to the needs of European enterprises and governments.
• Digital Sovereignty: Ensuring that organizations retain full control over their data and infrastructure while maintaining compliance with European regulations.
• Collaboration & Innovation: Providing a vendor-neutral environment where contributors can build, deploy, and scale cloud-native solutions that support a thriving digital economy.

A broad coalition of founding members is joining the NeoNephos Foundation to accelerate its mission, including leading technology companies, cloud providers, and research institutions. Initial members include Clyso GmbH, Cyberus Technology, Deutsche Telekom AG, SAP SE, TNO - ECOFED, and 23 Technologies GmbH. These organizations bring deep expertise and a shared commitment to fostering an open cloud ecosystem that prioritizes transparency, security, and interoperability.

NeoNephos welcomes additional members, contributors, and collaborators to get involved and support its efforts. Organizations and individuals interested in participating can find more information at neonephos.org.

Supporting Quotes

"8ra is one of the key initiatives to advance Europe´s digital sovereignty. It is currently driven by more than 120 companies from 12 EU Member States creating a strong basis for an innovative multi-provider cloud edge continuum. At the heart of the initiative lies the development of Open Source components. In that regard the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) welcomes the creation of the NeoNephos foundation under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation Europe. It will be a cornerstone to get the community involved to further develop the next generation of cloud and edge services.
– Ernst Stoeckl-Pukall, Head of Division, Industry 4.0, Digitalization, BMWK

"As a long-standing advocate of open source solutions, I am excited about the launch of the NeoNephos Foundation, which aligns perfectly with CLYSO's commitment to harnessing open source software for innovative data management. NeoNephos represents a significant step forward in Europe's quest for digital autonomy and cloud sovereignty. By fostering collaboration between industry leaders, technology providers and academic institutions, NeoNephos will accelerate the development of secure, scalable and transparent cloud solutions that meet European regulatory standards. At CLYSO, we are excited to contribute our expertise and engage in this global community, working together to shape the future of cloud infrastructure in Europe."
– Joachim Kraftmayer, CEO at CLYSO GmbH

"At Cyberus Technology, we believe open-source is vital to Europe's digital sovereignty, driving collaboration and innovation across borders. The Linux Foundation Europe and the new NeoNephos Foundation perfectly represent this vision, and we at Cyberus Technology are proud to be part of it."
 –Tor Lund-Larsen, CEO Cyberus Technology

"A team is always stronger and better. With joint efforts we can ensure that Europe determines its own digital future and stays independent. For decades, T-Systems developed sovereign solutions for Germany and Europe together with other players. That is why we also heavily invest in building a cloud-edge infrastructure in IPCEI-CIS. NeoNephos as a shared open source standard will be a key enabler to make this a success."
– Ferri Abolhassan, CEO T-Systems and Member of the Board of Management Deutsche Telekom AG

"At SAP, open innovation is central to our strategy. By initiating the Neonephos Foundation and transferring several of our latest flagship open source projects—developed as part of the EU IPCEI-CIS initiative—we are advancing a collaborative, secure, and interoperable cloud and edge ecosystem in Europe. This step reinforces our commitment to digital sovereignty while setting a new benchmark for innovation that drives tangible value for the European digital economy."
– Michael Ameling, Member of the SAP SE Extended Board, General Manager & Chief Product Officer Business Technology Platform

"Contributing to NeoNephos allows STACKIT to develop an interoperable cloud and edge computing ecosystem. This aligns perfectly with our commitment to a digitally sovereign Europe."
– Bernie Wagner, CEO of STACKIT

"As an independent applied research institute in the Netherlands, TNO is proud to work with NeoNephos in shaping the EU's sovereign cloud foundation. NeoNephos aligns with the goals of the Dutch IPCEI CIS project ECOFED; a consortium project with the Dutch SME cloud industry to come to open a federated cloud ecosystem."
–Berry Vetjens, Director Market unit ICT, Strategy & Policy, TNO - ECOFED|

"We are honoured to join the NeoNephos Foundation as 23 Technologies and actively participate in the development of an open, interoperable and sovereign cloud-edge ecosystem. The initiative is a crucial step for Europe's digital autonomy and we are proud to contribute with our expertise to open collaboration and innovation".
–Christian Berendt, Founder of 23 Technologies

About Linux Foundation Europe and the Linux Foundation
Linux Foundation Europe is the Brussels-based European chapter of the Linux Foundation. The Linux Foundation is the world's leading home for global collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data. Linux Foundation projects are critical to the world's infrastructure, including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, ONAP, OpenChain, OpenSSF, PyTorch, RISC-V, SPDX, Zephyr, and more. The Linux Foundation focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact
Federica Nocerino
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Linux Foundation Europe

SOURCE Linux Foundation Europe