Sovereign AI tools for technical teams: orchestration, tracing, gateway, vector database
Self-hosted LangGraph, Haystack, LlamaIndex, Langfuse instead of LangSmith, LiteLLM as a gateway, Qdrant or Weaviate instead of Pinecone: how to build an AI chain without an irreversible dependency.
Published on 17 September 2026 by Lumineth
When you build an AI solution, the dependency does not come only from the model: it also comes from the orchestrator, the tracing tool, the vector database. Each can become an anchor at a provider. Sixth part of the digital sovereignty series.
Orchestration: LangGraph and its alternatives
| Solution | Publisher | Origin | Open source | Self-hostable | Pricing model | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LangGraph (to keep) | American publisher | International (open source) | Yes (MIT) | Yes | Free | Self-host; avoid the managed cloud platform |
| Haystack (deepset) | Germany | EU | Yes | Yes | Free | |
| LlamaIndex | American publisher | International (open source) | Yes | Yes | Free |
LangGraph is an MIT-licensed library: the code runs wherever you want. The dependency appears when you adopt the managed cloud platform that comes with it. I use it self-hosted, with a state store (checkpointer) on a PostgreSQL database I control. Haystack, developed by deepset in Berlin, is the most complete European alternative.
Agent tracing: replacing LangSmith
| Solution | Country | Origin | Open source | Self-hostable | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Langfuse | Germany | EU | Yes | Yes | Free / freemium cloud |
Tracing (traces, costs, evaluations) is the tool that sees all the data pass by: prompts, answers, documents. It is the one to self-host first. Langfuse allows it, with direct integration into LangGraph and LiteLLM.
Multi-provider gateway
| Solution | Publisher | Origin | Open source | Self-hostable | Pricing model | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LiteLLM | American publisher | International (open source) | Yes | Yes | Free | Switch between providers |
LiteLLM exposes a single interface in front of every provider: Bedrock, Infomaniak, Mistral, Scaleway, a local vLLM. The application only knows the gateway; you route by rule (sensitive data to a Swiss API, the rest to the most suitable model) and change provider without touching the code.
Vector database: replacing Pinecone
| Solution | Country | Origin | Open source | Self-hostable | Pricing model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qdrant | Germany | EU | Yes | Yes | Free / pay-as-you-go cloud |
| Weaviate | Netherlands | EU | Yes | Yes | Free / pay-as-you-go cloud |
A vector database holds your documents chunked and indexed: it is a copy of your knowledge. Qdrant (Berlin) and Weaviate (Amsterdam) are free software, host on any European cloud, and offer a managed cloud if you prefer. For modest volumes, PostgreSQL’s pgvector extension even avoids one more component.
The resulting architecture
- Application and orchestration (LangGraph or Haystack) hosted on a Swiss or European cloud.
- LiteLLM gateway in front of the model providers, with routing by sensitivity.
- Self-hosted Langfuse tracing, never in a third-party cloud for client data.
- Qdrant, Weaviate or pgvector vector database on the same infrastructure.
- State, rules, prompts and evaluation sets in your repository and your database, not at a provider.
I put this kind of migration in place with your teams: inventory, choices by data sensitivity, staged switch-over, operations. A first conversation is enough to know where to start.
Get in touchFAQ
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to drop LangGraph to be sovereign?
No. The library is free software (MIT) and self-hostable. What to avoid is the managed cloud platform that comes with it, and storing state at a third party.
Why self-host tracing first?
Because the tracing tool sees every prompt and every answer, hence all the data. Self-hosted Langfuse settles the question.
Qdrant or Weaviate?
Both are suitable. Qdrant is lighter to operate; Weaviate offers more built-in modules. For small volumes, pgvector in PostgreSQL is enough.
A concrete case on your side?
Tell me what costs you time or what you want to take back control of; I get back within 24 business hours with a first read, no obligation.