Manish Parashar, chief AI officer at the University of Utah, joins Dave Vellante and Amit Eyal Govrin of theCUBE Research for a discussion on sovereign artificial intelligence, research computing and the development of the university's Redtail AI factory. As part of HPE's "Sovereign AI: From Strategy to Reality" program, Parashar explains how Redtail brings together AI infrastructure, research capabilities and governance frameworks to support academic research, education, entrepreneurship and collaboration with government agencies. He outlines the university's approach to AI sovereignty, balancing the need for open research environments with security, compliance and operational control. Parashar discusses the complexities of managing AI sovereignty across territorial, operational, technical, legal and financial dimensions. He explains how the University of Utah is developing flexible governance models that accommodate different research requirements, including federally funded projects involving sensitive data. The conversation addresses governance sandboxes, compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) requirements and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) standards. Parashar also highlights the importance of sustainable funding, infrastructure refresh cycles and long-term planning as AI computing demands continue to grow. The discussion also explores how the University of Utah is combining research computing and AI infrastructure to create a hybrid environment that can adapt to different workloads and sovereignty requirements. Parashar emphasizes the importance of operational sovereignty, allowing organizations to determine the appropriate levels of control, access and governance based on specific use cases. He describes how strategic partnerships with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and NVIDIA support the development of Redtail's AI capabilities while helping the university advance responsible AI adoption. The conversation highlights how universities can serve as hubs for AI innovation, connecting academic researchers, industry partners and government agencies while maintaining the flexibility needed to support scientific discovery and public benefit.