Microsoft continued its AI spending spree after it reportedly unveiled a plan to invest $10 billion on an AI data centre in Portugal as part of a ramping up in compute infrastructure.

Bloomberg reported the new data centre in Sines, Portugal is being developed with UK-based AI startup Nscale and Portuguese developer Start Campus.

A representative from Start Campus told the news agency the $10 billion investment lines up with ongoing discussion about the next phase of development after it opened the first of six planned buildings in March.

In October, Nscale expanded a deal with Microsoft to supply the technology giant with 200,000 Nvidia GPUs in what it stated was one of the largest AI contracts signed to date. The deal included delivering Nvidia GB300 GPUs to the Sines data centre.

Last month, Start Campus and Nscale announced a partnership to deliver 12,600 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs for use at the Sines data centre. The two companies stated the infrastructure and first deployment are set to go live by Q1 2026 at the Sines location.

Nscale secured $1.1 billion in funding in September from backers including Nvidia and Nokia, cash earmarked for its global hyperscale ambition.

Earlier this month, Microsoft continued its quest to secure more compute capacity for AI services by striking a $9.7 billion deal with Australia-based data centre company IREN.

To meet the surging demand for AI services, the tech giant also agreed a data centre deal with United Arab Emirates-based G42.