US ambassador sees $40 billion tech investment wave into Portugal by 2031

Portugal is set to attract more than $40 ​billion in US ​technology investment by 2031, becoming home to ​Europe's largest hub of American AI infrastructure investment, U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John Arrigo said on Tuesday.

At a ceremony marking ‌the successful ⁠connection ⁠of Google's new Nuvem transatlantic cable, he urged Europe to follow Portugal's example and build its digital future with trusted US partners or risk falling behind.

He said Nuvem was "the clearest sign" of a deepening US-Portugal partnership, adding that "more than $40 ​billion in US tech investment is ⁠expected in ‌Portugal by 2031, making it the ​largest concentration ​of American AI infrastructure investment in all ⁠of Europe."


Portugal has more than 2.6 ​GW of data centre capacity under development, led ​by the 1.2-GW Start Campus project in Sines, south of Lisbon, which is backed by U.S. investment firm Davidson Kempner.

The US was Portugal's third-largest foreign investor, with nearly $20 billion in investment stock ‌spanning AI, energy, agriculture and tourism.

Arrigo said Portugal's sovereign cloud framework strikes a balance, ​opening enough ​to keep drawing ⁠partners like Google, but disciplined enough to protect what matters.

"This is exactly the model Europe needs right now," ​he said, arguing that the choice of Europe isn't about sovereignty and partnership, it's between building the digital future with trusted allies or trying to build it alone and falling behind.

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