Why the infrastructure that enabled AI is now holding It back

Beyond the Cloud: Ahoy’s Vision for Decentralized, Sovereign AI at Web Summit Vancouver 2026

Ahoy Technology’s CEO, Mr. Jamil Shinawi, founded the company after observing cloud computing’s limitations in 2008. He noted its lack of reliability, accessibility, and sovereignty for critical systems. This inspired Ahoy’s mission for decentralized AI, addressing fundamental issues of control and access, as building off-cloud was difficult.

Chief Sales Officer, Mr. Mohannad El-Barachi, criticized cloud AI as a closed system designed for financial gain, trapping users. He argued proprietary AI creates vendor lock-in risks. This drives a growing demand for businesses and governments to own their AI stack, recognizing the critical need for independence.

Mr. Shinawi detailed Edge AI’s advantages, contrasting it with centralizing data in vulnerable cloud centers. Edge AI processes data locally, offering near real-time performance (under 20 milliseconds) without internet. This eliminates transmission risks, ensuring data remains at its origin, crucial for mission-critical applications like ER diagnostics.

Edge AI transmits only data vectors, saving bandwidth, energy, and GPU demand. This approach is more efficient and vital for personal and national data sovereignty, preventing AI politicization. Ahoy enables Edge AI through a headless stack, framework, and SDK, supporting various chips for perception, vision, audio, and geographical systems.

Users can operate these systems offline or in hybrid modes, maintaining full ownership of their AI stack. Ahoy provides an open-core stack, free from external management or regulatory interference. Mr. El-Barachi envisioned AI moving beyond text-based LLMs to “physical AI” that interacts directly with the real world through perception and sensing.

He sees this as the next evolution before Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), emphasizing democratizing this technology to prevent concentrated control. Mr. Shinawi clarified AGI is a “North Star,” not an immediate destination, as human intelligence also evolves. He argued AGI isn’t achievable solely through screen interactions, stressing Edge AI and federated learning for future advancements.

Ahoy announced a partnership with Mila AI Research Lab in Montreal. Mr. El-Barachi highlighted Canada’s AI science contributions, despite needing to accelerate its position. Ahoy is making Montreal its second global headquarters and, with Mila, will advance Edge AI, sovereign AI, and physical AI research, funding Canada’s first physical AI lab.

Discussing challenges, Mr. Shinawi warned against equating data residency with sovereignty, a narrative often promoted by large tech. Global disparities in talent and capital also pose barriers. Mr. El-Barachi urged developers to build their own AI solutions, refuting claims of impossible competition. Ahoy’s goal is equal access to safe AI, preventing its weaponization, and expanding its global economic impact significantly.