Legora CEO Calls European Software Sovereignty an Excuse for the Timid

Max Junestrand, co-founder and CEO of Legora, said on Thursday at the Wave by Vento conference in Turin that calls for European sovereignty in software often turn out to be an excuse. According to him, the people who make them are companies that lack the nerve to go after the global market. He named three levels where this applies: enterprise applications, consumer applications and the software layer as a whole.

The statement is a bold one, and it comes from someone building an AI product for lawyers, so it does not read as abstract philosophy. It is the position of a company whose business depends on global expansion.

What exactly Junestrand said

In the available excerpt of the talk, the quote cuts off at the start of the thought: "I think that sovereignty in enterprise applications, or sovereignty in consumer applications, or sovereignty at the software level...". We have not seen the full text of the speech, so we do not give the exact wording of the rest. The general meaning is clear from the opening: Junestrand sees sovereignty as a slogan, not a strategy, and as a way to avoid competing with American and Asian players on their home turf.

The boundary of the argument matters too. It concerns the application layer. In the available excerpt, he says nothing about compute, chips or data centers.

Why

Legora's words carry more weight than usual conference rhetoric

Legora is a Swedish startup that builds an AI platform for law firms and in-house counsel. According to public data from autumn 2025, the company raised $150 million in a Series C round at a valuation of about $1.8 billion, led by Bessemer. The valuation and sales volume may have changed since then; the article contains no fresh confirmed figures.

The legal segment is also the most awkward one for the "sovereignty is an excuse" argument. Client confidentiality, data storage jurisdiction, regulatory requirements: buyers here ask where documents are stored and who has access to them. If Junestrand is right, the winner is whoever answers these questions with product and contracts, not with the vendor's nationality.

Where the argument runs into infrastructure

The application layer and the infrastructure layer work differently in Europe. Applications can be written in Stockholm and sold in New York. But underneath them sit GPUs, mostly American, hyperscaler clouds and foundation models, only a few of which are European. The AI sovereignty debate is largely about this layer, and the argument about software does not settle it.

In effect, Junestrand separates two questions that often get merged in European discussions:

• Layer: software and applications, not chips, clouds or models.
• Venue: the Wave by Vento conference, Turin, Thursday.
• Speaker: Max Junestrand, co-founder and CEO of Legora.
• Argument: software sovereignty serves as an excuse for companies that are not ready for global competition.
• Scope: enterprise applications, consumer applications and the software layer.
• Context: according to public data, a $150 million Series C round at a valuation of about $1.8 billion (autumn 2025).

How to read this argument in practice

For European founders, the takeaway is direct: if customers choose a product by the vendor's passport rather than its quality, the market has turned out too narrow. There is a simple way to test this. Look at what share of revenue comes from customers outside your home region, and how many of them bought the product without any reference to its local origin.

For buyers, especially lawyers and compliance teams, the question is different. Do not take either the sovereignty slogan or the claim that it is unnecessary on faith. Ask for specifics: where data is processed, which models and clouds sit under the product, and what happens if the provider changes. These questions show whether sovereignty becomes a real requirement or remains marketing.

The main test for Junestrand himself lies ahead. His position will hold up under criticism if Legora keeps growing outside Europe without losing customers who care about data guarantees.