Microsoft will invest approximately €1.95 billion in Spain until 2025. The company wants to promote its use of infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI). The aim is to promote digital innovation and the responsible use of this technology in two factories in Zaragoza and Madrid.
The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, communicated this to the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez. He did this on Monday during a meeting in the Moncloa government palace. The Minister of Digital Transformation, José Luis Excrivá, was also present. “This is the largest investment by the technology multinational in our country to date,” the government assured.
Collaboration between the government and Microsoft
In addition, various cooperation agreements between the government and Microsoft in the field of artificial intelligence were analysed during the meeting. The aim is to expand its application in public administration through generative AI solutions and training plans for civil servants.
Strengthening cyber security at Defense
The strengthening of national cybersecurity has also been put on the table. Microsoft collaborates with the Ministry of Defense and the National Cryptological Centre. Companies and SMEs also work together with the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE).
Data centres
In this sense, Microsoft will soon open a cloud region of data centres in the community of Madrid. In addition, the company announced that it will build a data centre campus in Aragon for European companies and public entities.
Spain as a hub of digital infrastructures
“These strategic investments by Microsoft in Spain in data centres and R&D, which will be carried out under sustainability criteria, will contribute to our country becoming a hub [logistics centre] of interconnectivity and digital infrastructures,” the government emphasised.
Prime Minister Sánchez also emphasised Microsoft’s contribution to Spain’s digital transformation. To this end, the multinational is working with the government in the field of cybersecurity and the development of artificial intelligence and administration tools.
In September 2021, the IT giant opened a new Centre for Research & Development in Artificial Intelligence in Barcelona. Initially, 30 software specialists and data scientists would work there. These were software specialists in the field of Machine Learning (a technique with which software improves itself by recognizing data patterns) and Deep Learning (recognition based on deep artificial neural networks).
