Microsoft to Invest $ 10 Billion in Portuguese AI Data Hub
Microsoft intends to allocate $10 billion towards artificial intelligence infrastructure at a data center in Sines, Portugal, in the coming years, signaling one of the largest AI investment initiatives in Europe.
The technology giant will collaborate with developers Start Campus, AI infrastructure platform Nscale, and chipmaker Nvidia to install 12,600 next-generation Nvidia Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in Sines, located 150 km (93 miles) south of Lisbon.
Start Campus, a collaboration between US investment firm Davidson Kempner and UK's Pioneer Point Partners, revealed in April a strategy to invest 8.5 billion euros ($9.9 billion) by 2030 in a data center hub to meet the rising demand from leading tech and AI firms.
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"By enhancing the national AI infrastructure through partnerships with Nscale, Nvidia, and Start Campus, we aim to establish Portugal as a leading example for responsible and scalable AI development in Europe," stated Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith.
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Portugal is preparing significant investment initiatives in Sines to generate green energy for energy-demanding data centres. Portugal's Atlantic coast establishes it as a central point for subsea cables linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas, serving as the foundation of the World Wide Web.
Investments in data centers, which supply computing power for AI, have increased significantly since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in 2022, as businesses from various sectors progressively migrate their operations to the cloud and incorporate AI into their functions.
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Microsoft Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational technology company located in Redmond, Washington. Established in 1975, the company played a significant role in the emergence of personal computers with software such as Windows, and has subsequently diversified into Internet services, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, video gaming, and additional sectors. Frequently referred to as a Big Tech firm, Microsoft stands as the biggest software producer and one of the most valuable publicly traded companies.