“The conditions are in place to set up AI factories in the country”
Connectivity and renewable energy will increasingly make Portugal a place where data is processed in data centres, and not just a point of passage, argues Carlos Paulino, head of Equinix.
Building a second data centre in Lisbon, with a third already in mind, the country manager of Equinix Portugal is convinced that “this is the moment of opportunity” for the sector in the country, which offers practically everything the promoters of these investments look for. But licensing still lacks predictability, Carlos Paulino admits in an interview with ECO.
The country is also positioned to start attracting data centres adapted to the demands of the new age of artificial intelligence (AI), the specialist says, although at present it is still more a point of passage for data than a processing hub. That will change, believes the head of the American company in Portugal, who is also vice-president of PortugalDC, the sector’s trade association.
AI translation from the Portuguese. First published in ECO on 12 March 2025.