Microsoft announces big spend on AI

US digital giant Microsoft has announced it will spend billions on data centres for artificial intelligence in Spain, in addition to the major investment projects it plans in Germany, reported dpa.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Microsoft manager Brad Smith announced on Monday that €1.95 billion would be invested over a period of two years. The money would be used to expand the AI and cloud infrastructure, Smith wrote on the online platform X, formerly Twitter.

Last week, Smith announced investments of almost €3.3 billion within two years for Germany to massively expand its data centre capacities for AI and cloud computing applications.

The largest single investment in Microsoft's 40-year history in Germany also includes an AI training programme that aims to reach up to 1.2 million people.

Last November, Microsoft had already pledged to invest £2.5 billion ($3.15 billion) in AI in the UK by 2026. A month earlier, Smith promised an investment of 5 billion Australian dollars ($3.26 billion) in the AI sector during a visit to Australia.