The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the president of the company, Brad Smith, sign an agreement at Moncloa to «promote the deployment of responsible artificial intelligence.» 

Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and Microsoft President, Brad Smith, signed a collaboration agreement in Madrid today. The deal will quadruple investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure in Spain during 2024 and 2025, reaching a total of $2.1 billion (approximately €1.95 billion). This marks Microsoft’s largest investment in its 37-year presence in Spain. The tech giant plans to open a Cloud Region of Data Centers in Madrid and construct a Data Center campus in Aragón, aimed at serving European businesses and public entities. These infrastructures will offer Al solutions to Spanish and European public administrations and businesses. The collaboration is framed within Spain’s National Al and Cybersecurity Strategies and focuses on four action lines. Firstly, it includes the expansion of Al use in public administration and the promotion of responsible Al use, with Microsoft collaborating with the Spanish Al Supervision Agency. Secondly, the agreement involves strengthening national cybersecurity, specifically the cyber-resilience of critical infrastructures. Microsoft and the National Cryptologic Center will jointly explore improving early warning mechanisms and responses to IT security incidents in public administrations. A fourth point involves enhancing IT resilience in companies. Microsoft will cooperate with the National Cybersecurity Institute, providing access to telemetry and global information on potential threats and cyber-attacks that could affect Spanish businesses and public administrations. Smith, during his visit to Spain, explains that this agreement is part of a strategy to equip Spain and its businesses with strategies to face the Al revolution. He notes that while Spain is one of the countries that use Al the most, it is not generating jobs to the same extent. Smith adds that the company aims to help Spain prepare for 2030, a year when many professionals, including doctors and public administration employees, are expected to retire. He believes that part of the solution is the use of Al to create future jobs and lower entry barriers, making it easier for people to become cybersecurity professionals and software developers.