Machinepower Index / Dossiers / Switzerland
Switzerland
Specialist Power — Dominate one narrow, world-class layer the giants cannot easily replace, instead of contesting the whole stack.
Score comes from the twelve measurements beneath the three layers. A nation needs all of them at once — world-class models are no use on a grid that cannot power them — so one weak measurement pulls the Score down instead of being averaged away. Potential is the plain average of the three layers. The gap between the two is what being lopsided costs: nothing if a nation is evenly built, more the further its strengths and weaknesses sit apart. The exact formula is on the methodology page.
The three layers
Energy, grids, data centres and silicon — the physical capacity to run models at scale.
Models, alignment capability, standards influence and the talent that produces them.
The capacity to wire AI into the state and the economy while holding public consent.
Where the score comes from
Each layer is the plain average of its four measurements. The Score uses those twelve measurements directly rather than the three averages, because averaging hides things: a 10 next to a 3 comes out as a forgettable 6.5, and you lose both facts. Every measurement is scored 0–10 and marked to show where the number came from.
| Layer | Sub-dimension | Basis | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watts | Planning & Permitting | Assessed | 5.0 |
| Firm Power Capacity | Dataset | 3.6 | |
| Sovereign Compute | Dataset | 6.7 | |
| Hardware & Silicon Access | Dataset | 4.7 | |
| Weights | Frontier Model Output | Assessed | 4.0 |
| Alignment Capability | Assessed | 6.5 | |
| Regulatory Standing | Dataset | 8.9 | |
| Talent Density | Assessed | 7.8 | |
| Will | State Procurement | Assessed | 7.5 |
| Public Sector Adoption | Dataset | 7.4 | |
| Workforce Transition | Assessed | 7.6 | |
| Public Trust | Dataset | 5.5 |
Dataset means the number comes straight from a published source. Assessed means we judged it ourselves, because no dataset measures that thing cleanly — 6 of the 12 here, and 116 of 312 across the Index. The CSV export flags them too.
Sources
Every source below was published within the last 12 months. These are the main ones behind Switzerland's profile. The full list, and the rule on how recent a source has to be, are on the methodology page.
Alps at CSCS Lugano is the tenth-fastest system on Earth on the June 2026 list; Switzerland's ~450 PF aggregate is remarkable for a nine-million-person state.
View source →The validated January 2026 report rates Swiss governance capacity at 89.20/100, with public-sector adoption at 73.93.
View source →In Ipsos's 30-country 2025 wave (fielded March–April 2025), the most recent to cover Switzerland, 45% of Swiss respondents agreed AI products and services have more benefits than drawbacks — among the more sceptical publics surveyed.
View source →Bottlenecks
These hold Switzerland below its Potential. Its two lowest scores cost it the most: firm power capacity at 3.6 (part of Watts) and frontier model output at 4.0 (part of Weights).
Assessment
The Alps machine at CSCS is a top-ten system on Earth and Apertus is among Europe's most credible sovereign open models — a remarkable intelligence layer for nine million people. But Switzerland runs it all on 65 TWh and a public among the most AI-sceptical surveyed (45%). Precision, not scale, is the Swiss condition.
The art of the possible
Switzerland cannot out-build anyone; it can out-trust everyone. The play is to become the neutral ground of the AI age — sovereign evaluation, model auditing and data escrow for states that trust neither Washington nor Beijing. The Geneva of weights, priced accordingly.
Strategic play — Specialist Power
Dominate one narrow, world-class layer the giants cannot easily replace, instead of contesting the whole stack.
The play is editorial, not scored: it names the game Switzerland's measured position supports. Eight plays run across the Index — Total Sovereignty, Strategic Autonomy, Chokepoint Leverage, Diffusion Advantage, Compute Rentier, Specialist Power, Sovereign Capital and Siege Autarky.
Open Switzerland in the live Index → — every source behind every number, the comparison tool and the CSV export.