The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, has announced the intention to quadruple its investment in Spain to 1,950 million euros in the next two years as part of the multinational’s commitment to promoting digital innovation and the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence ( AI) that benefits companies and public administrations.
This was conveyed yesterday to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and to the Minister for Digital Transformation and the Public Service, José Luis Escrivá, during a meeting held at the Moncloa Palace, which was also attended by the director of the Office. of Economic Affairs and G20, Manuel de la Rocha, and the president of Microsoft Spain, Alberto Granados.
The amount represents the largest investment by the technology multinational in the country during the 37 years of activity in Spain. The main destination of this million-dollar amount will be to promote the deployment of infrastructure for artificial intelligence in the years 2024 and 2025, promoting digital innovation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
The President of the Government highlighted Microsoft’s contribution to Spain’s digital transformation, which includes investments in data centers, R&D and collaboration with the Executive on key issues such as cybersecurity and the development of artificial intelligence tools in the Administration.
This investment reinforces the Government’s strategic position of turning Spain into a ‘hub’ of interconnectivity and digital infrastructure.
Specifically, the multinational plans to soon open a Data Center Cloud Region located in the Community of Madrid, and has announced its intention to build a Data Center Campus in Aragon that will serve European companies and public entities. As the company explains, “these two infrastructures will provide Microsoft cloud services with the maximum guarantees of security, privacy and data sovereignty.”
Therefore, they will make it possible to make their entire range of Artificial Intelligence solutions available to Spanish and European companies and public administrations. “Microsoft Data Centers in Spain could add 8.4 billion euros to the national GDP and contribute to the creation of 69,000 jobs in the period 2026 – 2030, according to an analysis by IDC,” according to the estimates managed by the company.
In recent years, Spain has been developing a clear roadmap to promote the country’s digital transformation through the Digital Spain Agenda, the Recovery Plan investments and the reinforcement of public-private collaboration.
In 2021, Spain led the regulation of citizens’ digital rights with the creation of the world’s first Digital Rights Charter. Likewise, the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union achieved a political agreement at the end of 2023 that will allow the first regulatory framework for artificial intelligence to be achieved worldwide.
In his first intervention in the Congress of Deputies as Minister for Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá, also announced the implementation of the first specific cybersecurity law.
