Microsoft launches multi-billion dollar AI hub in Portugal

Microsoft has announced a landmark investment of more than US $10 billion to build a new artificial-intelligence-optimised data-centre complex near Sines, Portugal, as part of its global strategy to expand compute capacity and support large-scale AI workloads across Europe.

Investment scope and technical details

The Portugal facility represents one of Microsoft’s largest infrastructure commitments in Europe to date. It is designed to house 12,600 NVIDIA GPUs, in collaboration with British company Nscale and Portuguese developer Start Campus.
The site is strategically located in Sines, a coastal region with strong subsea-cable connectivity, rendering it well-positioned for serving global AI workloads while harnessing renewable energy.

Strategic rationale
By investing heavily in European AI infrastructure, Microsoft aims to establish greater flexibility, redundancy, and regional capability for its cloud and AI services. The move addresses rising demand for AI training and inference capacity outside of the United States, and reinforces Europe as a key frontier in the company’s compute expansion. According to the WSJ, the broader European AI data-centre race sees Microsoft committing over US $10 billion in Portugal and companion investments by rivals elsewhere.

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Regional and economic implications
For Portugal, the project signals a major boost in technological prestige and local employment, while for Microsoft it deepens its infrastructure footprint on the continent. The facility’s reliance on renewable energy aligns with broader corporate commitments to sustainability and efficiency in large-scale compute operations. The connectivity advantage also means lower latency and greater regional reach for cloud-AI services.

Microsoft’s commitment to building out a major AI data-centre hub in Portugal underscores how the company intends to scale its AI and cloud business globally—particularly in Europe. With the facility’s GPU count, connectivity advantages and energy strategy, it sets the tone for what enterprise-scale AI infrastructure will look like going forward. For competitors, it raises the bar on regional compute capacity and infrastructure readiness.

SOURCE: FinanceYahoo