Microsoft Commits $10 Billion to Transform Portuguese Port Town into Major European AI Hub

Microsoft plans to invest $10 billion in Portuguese AI data hub

Microsoft will invest $10 billion in an AI data-centre project in Sines, Portugal, deploying 12,600 Nvidia GPUs with partners Start Campus, Nscale and Nvidia. The move strengthens Europe's AI infrastructure as data-centre and cloud demand accelerates globally. Microsoft plans to invest $10 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure at a data centre in Portugal's port city of Sines over the next few years, marking one of the largest AI investment projects in Europe, it said on Tuesday. The technology giant will work in partnership with developers Start Campus, AI infrastructure platform Nscale and chipmaker Nvidia to deploy 12,600 next-generation Nvidia Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in Sines, 150 km (93 miles) south of Lisbon. Start Campus, a venture between US investment fund Davidson Kempner and Britain's Pioneer Point Partners, in April announced a plan to invest 8.5 billion euros ($9.9 billion) by 2030 in a data centre hub to serve growing demand from major tech and AI companies. One of the planned six buildings is already in operation. "By strengthening the national AI infrastructure through collaboration with Nscale, Nvidia, and Start Campus, we are helping to position Portugal as a benchmark for the responsible and scalable development of AI in Europe," Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said. Portugal has large investment projects lined up for Sines to produce green energy to power energy-intensive data centres. Portugal's Atlantic coastline positions it as a prime hub for subsea cables connecting Europe, Africa and the Americas and forming the backbone of the World Wide Web. Investments in data centres, which help provide computing power for AI, have surged since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, as companies across sectors increasingly shift their operations to the cloud and integrate AI into their businesses.

Microsoft Doubles Down On AI, Invests $10B Portugal Data Center - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) committed $10 billion to build an artificial intelligence data center along Portugal's coast. The company is developing the data center park in Sines -- about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Lisbon -- in partnership with Portuguese developer Start Campus and British startup Nscale. Microsoft President Brad Smith revealed the funding plans to local newspaper Jornal de Negócios during the Web Summit in Lisbon, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Also Read: Nvidia Rallies As Microsoft Expands AI Infrastructure In Middle East With US Backing A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the investment amount but declined to provide further details. A Start Campus representative said the $10 billion figure reflects ongoing discussions about the project's next development phase, following the March opening of the first of six planned buildings. In October, Microsoft signed a multi-year agreement to lease capacity at the Sines site as part of its broader push to expand computing infrastructure and meet soaring demand for AI services. To address capacity constraints, Microsoft has recently partnered with several "neocloud" providers -- companies specializing in high-performance cloud computing -- including CoreWeave Inc. and Nebius Group NV. The company also plans to lease capacity from Nscale in Norway and the UK. Microsoft stock gained over 20% year-to-date. Based on the internal comments, Microsoft is actively pursuing AI "self-sufficiency" to unlock value. AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman stated the company is investing in its own proprietary chip infrastructure to build "world-class" models in-house. This strategy aims to reduce Microsoft's dependency on any single partner, including OpenAI. The company is now using a mix of in-house models, third-party partnerships (like Anthropic's Claude), and open-source solutions. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives stated that Azure's strength was "front and center" in the quarter and that the "AI Revolution hits next gear." He highlighted fiscal year 2026 will be the "true inflection year" for AI growth, potentially pushing the company toward a $5 trillion valuation. Price Action: MSFT shares were trading lower by 0.30% to $504.46 premarket at last check Tuesday. Image: Shutterstock MSFTMicrosoft Corp $505.04-0.19% Overview Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Microsoft plans to invest US$10 billion in Portuguese AI data hub

LISBON -- Microsoft plans to invest US$10 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure at a data center in Portugal's port city of Sines over the next few years, marking one of the largest AI investment projects in Europe, it said on Tuesday. The technology giant will work in partnership with developers Start Campus, AI infrastructure platform Nscale and chipmaker NVIDIA to deploy 12,600 next-generation NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in Sines, 150 km (93 miles) south of Lisbon. Start Campus, a venture between U.S. investment fund Davidson Kempner and Britain's Pioneer Point Partners, in April announced a plan to invest 8.5 billion euros ($9.9 billion) by 2030 in a data center hub to serve growing demand from major tech and AI companies. One of the planned six buildings is already in operation. "By strengthening the national AI infrastructure through collaboration with Nscale, NVIDIA, and Start Campus, we are helping to position Portugal as a benchmark for the responsible and scalable development of AI in Europe," Microsoft's Vice Chair and President Brad Smith said. Portugal has large investment projects lined up for Sines to produce green energy to power energy-intensive data centers. Portugal's Atlantic coastline positions it as a prime hub for subsea cables connecting Europe, Africa and the Americas and forming the backbone of the World Wide Web. Investments in data centers, which help provide computing power for AI, have surged since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, as companies across sectors increasingly shift their operations to the cloud and integrate AI into their businesses.

How a quiet Portuguese port town became Microsoft's AI launchpad By Invezz

Invezz.com - Microsoft is investing $10 billion to transform Sines, a quiet port town in Portugal, into a critical node in its global AI infrastructure. The town, known more for its fishing heritage than data servers, is now at the centre of a massive shift in how cloud giants are building capacity for artificial intelligence. The project, which involves six large-scale data centre buildings, is being developed in partnership with Portuguese operator Start Campus and British startup Nscale. Microsoft's President Brad Smith disclosed the investment to Jornal de Negócios during the Web Summit in Lisbon. The confirmation places Portugal firmly in the spotlight as one of Microsoft's major European commitments this year. The move aligns with Microsoft's broader strategy to reduce reliance on traditional hyperscale data centres and pivot towards scalable, strategically located infrastructure to meet the growing computational demand of AI models. Sines connects continents through digital cablesSines is not just geographically convenient. Its coastal position gives it unique access to transatlantic undersea cables that connect Europe to Africa and South America. These cables are vital for reducing latency and increasing bandwidth across continents. Google is adding to this by laying a new fibre line between Portugal and South Carolina, further enhancing the location's global data reach. The choice of Sines is far from arbitrary. The region already serves as a hub for subsea cable landing stations, giving it low-latency access to several continents. For a company like Microsoft, which is deploying AI models across regions, speed of access is critical. The site in Sines offers both physical and strategic proximity to emerging markets and well-established digital corridors. In March 2025, the first of six planned data centre buildings was completed, setting the stage for broader buildout phases. Start Campus confirmed that Microsoft's $10 billion commitment aligns with ongoing development planning for the remaining five buildings. Microsoft adjusts its infrastructure strategyWith the explosion of generative AI workloads and increasing demand for distributed cloud capacity, Microsoft is redesigning how it builds out infrastructure. In addition to traditional facilities, it is collaborating with neocloud providers such as CoreWeave Inc and Nebius Group NV. These firms offer niche, high-performance cloud services optimised for AI tasks. In October, Microsoft signed a multi-year lease agreement to secure capacity at the Sines site. It has also inked separate deals to lease infrastructure from Nscale in Norway and the United Kingdom. The company is building redundancy, diversity and resilience into its infrastructure network, positioning itself to serve both enterprise customers and global developers relying on its Azure cloud services. AI computing requires not only dense data centres, but also high-performance networking and massive power capacity. By partnering with local developers and regional players, Microsoft is speeding up its deployment timelines and avoiding some of the bureaucratic slowdowns seen in other EU markets.

Microsoft to Invest Over $10 Billion to Expand AI Infrastructure in Portugal

Microsoft said it would invest more than $10 billion to expand artificial-intelligence infrastructure in Portugal, the latest spending commitment from a U.S. tech giant as it seeks to bolster AI capacity in Europe. The company said the funding would go toward a data-center hub in Sines in south-west Portugal, starting early next year. Microsoft is building out the facility with Nvidia, U.K. AI infrastructure startup Nscale Global Holdings and data-center builder Start Campus. The companies plan to deploy about 12,600 Nvidia GB300 graphics processing units at the site. Microsoft said the investment would be its largest in Portugal and one of the largest for AI computing capacity in Europe. Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith unveiled the investment during the Web Summit trade event in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. The funding is the latest spending commitment from an American company seeking to expand operations overseas in a bid to satisfy growing demand for AI services. Tech companies have pledged billions of dollars to beef up data centers, cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe since OpenAI's release of ChatGPT to the public in late 2022 ushered in a spending frenzy. Last week, Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom said they would build one of Europe's largest AI factories in Germany under a 1 billion-euro ($1.16 billion) partnership, days after Amazon.com said it would invest more than 1.4 billion euros in the Netherlands over the next three years to bolster its cloud-computing and retail businesses in the country. Microsoft said in September that it would pour $30 billion into AI infrastructure and existing operations in the U.K. through 2028, while Alphabet's Google said it would spend about $6.8 billion in AI, research and development and related engineering in the U.K. over the next two years. While Europe continues to draw spending pledges, AI investments in the continent have been tiny compared to the hundreds of billions of dollars committed in the U.S. Earlier this year, Washington announced the Stargate AI venture to build data centers in the U.S. for the ChatGPT maker. OpenAI, SoftBank Group, Oracle and MGX, a United Arab Emirates investment firm, are the equity funders in Stargate, for which they had committed $100 billion initially, far more than investments seen in Europe. News Corp, owner of Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal, has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI.