The Portuguese government is stepping up efforts to attract major investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and data centres, promoting the country as a top destination for tech companies and investors.
Portugal’s Secretary of State for Digitalisation, Bernardo Correia, wrapped up a five-day visit to California’s Silicon Valley on Friday, where he met with investors, tech firms and start-up leaders.
The trip coincided with the approval of Portugal’s National Data Centre Plan, aimed at turning the country into a leading European hub for data infrastructure while strengthening digital sovereignty and attracting foreign investment.
Speaking to Lusa news agency during the visit, Bernardo Correia said Portugal has the talent and conditions needed to compete globally.
“We have major start-ups, scale-ups and unicorns, and we need to highlight the quality of our ecosystem, the quality of our talent, and our ability to create value and generate wealth,” he said.
“We are also here to ensure that Portugal is well positioned for what is, at this moment, the greatest opportunity of the century to attract investment, which is the construction of data centres,” Correia said, noting that this involves “astronomical sums.”
“And Portugal is well-positioned to capture this investment,” the secretary of state added.
The visit included meetings with venture capital firms, digital infrastructure companies and a stop at the Plug and Play incubator, as well as an event at Stanford University focused on sustainability in the digital transition.
“We have also been looking at how we can promote Portugal as an investment destination for Artificial Intelligence infrastructure and talking to investors in this area,” he said.
Correia noted growing interest in advanced technologies such as robotics and quantum sensing, describing them as the “cutting edge” of innovation that Portugal should aim to attract.
“We must ensure that Portugal and Europe are at the forefront of technology, rather than simply chasing after technologies that others are already leading,” he said.
The trip is part of Portugal’s broader National Digital Strategy and aimed at identifying best practices for supporting AI and deep-tech start-ups.
One key partnership involves the Plug and Play incubator working with Startup Portugal to help Portuguese companies expand into the US market.
But the government is also looking to deepen ties and create new opportunities for collaboration between Portugal and California.
“The start-up ecosystem in the San Francisco area is the best in the world, the most advanced on the planet, and there is a great deal of information exchange here on how we can improve our own ecosystem in Portugal,” said Bernardo Correia.
The Secretary of State’s visit was supported by the Consulate-General of Portugal and the AICEP (Portuguese Trade and Investment Agency) office in San Francisco, which have been working to position Portugal as a centre for technological development with good business opportunities on the international stage.
Source: LUSA
