The Government will allocate €100 million to Spanish companies that promote European digital sovereignty

The Diplomat The Spanish government will allocate €100 million to Spanish companies that promote projects developing European digital sovereignty in collaboration with companies from other EU countries, as announced this Tuesday by the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, Óscar López, at a breakfast meeting with his German counterpart, Karsten Wildberger, on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress 2026. According to the Ministry, this announcement is part of the IPCEI for Artificial Intelligence (IPCEI-AI), an Important Project of Common European Interest on Artificial Intelligence that brings together unique, high-impact initiatives for Europe and is led by the German government. Its objective is to develop a next-generation European AI ecosystem, fostering public-private collaboration across the entire AI value chain, from research and development to initial industrial deployment. “Spain is committed to the European race for AI. But we cannot run it alone. Europe needs more cooperation and policies geared towards the single market. The Spanish government and companies want to work hand in hand with Germany and other member states to achieve Europe’s digital dreams,” declared Minister Óscar López during the meeting, organized by the EU Champions Initiative. The minister advocated for Germany, the world’s third-largest economy, and Spain, the fastest-growing economy within the OECD, to join forces in defending “a European model that combines innovation, regulation, competitiveness, and digital rights.” “We have the talent, the industry, the values, and the ambition to become the vanguard of AI in Europe,” he emphasized. The meeting was attended by representatives from major Spanish and German companies such as Telefónica, Indra, Santander, La Caixa, Iberia, Deutsche Telekom, Ericsson, Orange, SAP, Schwarz Group (Lidl), Mastercard, Volkswagen, and Nokia, as well as startups from both countries, including Multiverse Computing, Open Chip, Quilimanjaro, Sherpa AI, Zhappiens AI, OpenNebula, Applus+IDIADA, Shakers, Tucuvi, and Quside. Spain has selected nine applications for the IPCEI AI grant, which it will submit to the European Commission. These are the projects of IDIADA, OpenNebula, Indra, Multiverse Computing, Telefónica, Openchip, Ideaded, Horse Powertrain, and Semidynamics. These companies will now need to find partners in other member states to scale their projects and give them a European dimension, making them more competitive with other regions of the world. The candidate companies will participate in a series of workshops in Berlin on March 10 and 11 to identify cross-border collaborations with other participants in the IPCEI AI initiative from various EU member states. The EU AI Champions Initiative is a pan-European coalition of companies and private capital created to position Europe as a global leader in AI and strengthen its competitiveness. Although not an official EU entity, it maintains a close dialogue with EU institutions. Formally launched at last year's AI Summit in Paris, it brings together more than 110 companies, ranging from startups to industrial conglomerates. It boasts a private investment group led by General Catalyst, with €150 billion earmarked for the next five years.

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