Spain approves €719 million AI gigafactory investment and hopes for EU funds

MADRID, June 16 (Reuters) - Spain has allocated €719 million ($834 million) towards building an AI gigafactory to try to reduce its dependence on foreign technology and ensure AI development complies with European regulations, the government said on Tuesday.

• The investment will make the government a shareholder in a company set up to submit Spain's bid for the European Commission's call for proposals for its InvestAI initiative, which could provide further funding.

• Spain will submit a multi-site bid that includes locations in Catalonia and Madrid.

• The project aims to provide Spain and Europe with advanced computing capacity, and help local companies innovate and boost their competitiveness, the government said.

• Digital Transformation Minister Oscar Lopez said the investment in high-performance computing would ensure Spanish scientists get access to infrastructure that is costly and in short supply. ($1 = 0.8620 euros)

(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga; Editing by Barbara Lewis)