Senior executives across Europe and North America are reporting record confidence in new technologies, even as concerns about sovereignty, cybersecurity, and trust continue to intensify. That contradiction sits at the centre of the 2026 Tech Confidence Barometer published by VivaTech, which points to accelerating investment in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity alongside increasingly cautious behaviour around data control and supplier choice.
The third edition of the barometer, conducted by OpinionWay between November and December 2025, surveyed 1,524 executives across France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants represented private companies with more than 50 employees, as well as startups, scaleups, and unicorns with strong exposure to technology-led business models.
Overall confidence in new technologies reached 89 out of 100, up from 87 in 2025. Almost nine in ten executives said their perception of the role of technology in driving competitiveness had improved over the past year, while 89% said they trusted artificial intelligence to help guide company decisions.
Yet this confidence is paired with rising strategic unease. Technological sovereignty emerged as a defining issue, with 92% of executives saying they would favour a technology partner of the same nationality when adopting new tools. Nearly half described this as a decisive factor, and 63% said they were concerned about the potential loss of sovereignty linked to technological progress.
The emphasis varies sharply by region. In the United States and the United Kingdom, 57% of executives described supplier nationality as essential, while most European respondents viewed it as an advantage rather than a requirement. The Netherlands was an exception within the EU, placing equal weight on both approaches.
Trust in technology is also shaped by geography. Almost half of executives cited their own country as one of the regions they trusted most for technology solutions. Broader blocs are forming, with strong continental alignment in Europe, heightened confidence in North America among US respondents, and a dual domestic and European outlook in the UK.
Security remains the primary driver of trust, cited by 57% of executives, followed by innovation quality and performance. These concerns sit uneasily alongside day-to-day practices, particularly around artificial intelligence. Despite widespread confidence in AI, 39% of executives admitted they had shared company information with an AI tool they did not fully trust, a pattern consistent across countries, sectors, and company sizes.
Investment intentions reflect both urgency and caution. Cybersecurity remains the most established area of spending, followed by artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and 5G. Looking ahead, 87% of executives plan to increase AI investment over the next 12 months, with more than half expecting a significant rise. Cybersecurity follows closely, with 77% planning increased spending.
Perceptions of international competitiveness are also shifting. While the United States remains the most confident market, the gap is narrowing as European confidence accelerates, particularly in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Italy.
Taken together, the findings point to a business environment defined by technological ambition, tempered by unresolved questions of trust, sovereignty, and control as adoption continues to outpace governance.
