European countries are now reinforcing their technological sovereignty by taking strategic steps to free themselves from the dominance of United States tech companies. This collective effort is outlined in a new regulatory framework known as 'Cloud and AI Development' (CADA), designed to foster domestic industrial growth in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
As a tangible manifestation of this initiative, Portugal officially launched its first open-source large language model (LLM) named 'Amalia'. This step follows in the footsteps of other major nations such as France and Germany, which previously supported local companies like Mistral AI and Aleph Alpha as alternatives to models developed by US giants such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Unlike general consumer AI, Amalia is specifically designed as a technological foundation for public institutions, the education sector, and enterprises. Funded with 5.5 million euros from the European Union recovery fund, the project was developed by a consortium of Portuguese academics and researchers to enhance efficiency across strategic sectors, ranging from banking to telecommunications.
Prime Minister of Portugal, Luis Montenegro, emphasized that Europe's strategic autonomy heavily relies on its AI capabilities. By releasing Amalia under an open-source license, the government hopes to minimize reliance on foreign infrastructure while raising national data security standards.
The development of Amalia is also supported by high-performance computing infrastructure, including access to cutting-edge supercomputers such as Deucalion and MareNostrum 5. This technology will later be widely implemented, covering virtual museum guides, decision support tools for the Navy, and digital assistants to accelerate the efficiency of public services for citizens.
