Microsoft announced a $2 billion investment in Spain to develop data centers and enhance its AI and cloud infrastructure, continuing its European investment binge.
Microsoft has made a $2.1 billion commitment to build its cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Spain, marking yet another significant investment into the European market.
After meeting with Pedro Sánchez, the prime minister of Spain, Brad Smith, vice chair and president of Microsoft, announced on social networking platform X that the business will be repaying its investment in Spain over the following two years.
According to Smith, the country’s “security, and development and digital transformation of its government, businesses, and people” are just as important as just constructing data centers.
The Microsoft executive claims that the corporation has been making investments in Spain for 37 years. The company revealed in September 2021 that it would establish a new AI research and development center in Barcelona, Spain.
Microsoft Spain President Alberto Granados claimed at the time that Microsoft’s investment demonstrated Spain’s aptitude in the digital space.
Microsoft previously invested 3 billion euros in Germany’s AI ecosystem on February 15th, and this investment follows immediately after that.
Similar to its intentions in Spain, Microsoft has promised to use the money for the next two years to expand Germany’s AI infrastructure, construct new data centers, and provide AI training to citizens.
As the European Union prepares to enact its historic EU AI Act legislation, large IT corporations are flooding the continent with investments connected to AI development.
The Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of France, along with Google, announced plans to open a new AI-focused hub in Paris on the same day that Microsoft announced its investment in Germany. The hub is expected to house approximately 300 researchers and engineers and will serve the nation’s AI aspirations.
Google indicated two days earlier that it will be investing 25 million euros ($26.9 million) in skill development for Europeans in the AI industry as part of its “AI Opportunity Initiative for Europe.”
