The Minister for Digital Transformation and Civil Service, Óscar López, announced that his department has finalised the calls for proposals for Red IA and Red IA Salud, involving a total investment of €180 million to boost 372 Artificial Intelligence projects. He made these remarks during his address at the 40th Digital Economy and Telecommunications Conference organised by AMETIC, the Multisectoral Association of Information Technology, Communications and Electronics Companies, which is being held in Santander and brings together the various stakeholders in the digital ecosystem (public authorities, businesses, the academic sector, professional bodies, social representatives and civil society) to tackle the challenge of balancing technological development with well-being, whilst promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.

"These calls for proposals are just one example of this Government's digital track record", said the minister, who had previously announced these grants - managed by Red.es - in July of last year; the grants aim to drive Artificial Intelligence adoption within the business community and the healthcare sector.

As López himself explained, in the case of RedIA, €130 million in ERDF funding is being channelled towards promoting technological development and innovation in AI, as well as the integration of artificial intelligence into the production processes of value chains.

In total, he explained, 300 business projects (out of more than a thousand that were submitted) from all the regional governments will benefit from this funding, which will enable them to develop smart assistants, digital twins, advanced robotics, computer vision, cybersecurity and predictive systems. The minister highlighted the fact that 70% of the selected projects involve SMEs and explained that the funding ranges from €400,000 to €5 million.

For its part, the RedIA Salud call for proposals is allocating €50 million to 72 projects that drive AI adoption in the healthcare sector, covering every stage of the care process, from prediction and diagnosis to treatment and follow-up. These projects range from clinical, biomedical and pharmacological research to those relating to emergency response.

López highlighted the importance of this type of support because "just as nobody starts a business without Wi-Fi today, nobody will be able to compete without AI tomorrow". "Productivity does not change simply because a new technology emerges. Things change when that new technology proves useful and becomes widely available. And to democratise and promote useful and competitive Spanish AI, we must increase our computing capacity", he explained.

During his speech at the AMETIC forum, the minister stated that "Spain's digital transformation is a shared success story" and pointed out that "AI is a key chapter in this story" thanks to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and public-private partnership.

López outlined the "key milestones and progress" of this transformation, such as being the first European country to establish an AI Supervisory Agency (the AESIA); ranking fifth in Europe for private investment in AI start-ups; ranking sixth globally for the adoption of generative AI; and ranking seventh globally for progress in AI, according to Stanford University.

"Spain has a solid foundation in AI on which to continue building an unbeatable digital economy", stated the minister, who believes that it is no longer "a question of AI or no AI, but rather what kind of AI" and that "the Government is absolutely clear on this". "We want a human-centred AI that serves to modernise public services, boost private-sector competitiveness, ensure security and protect citizens' rights". "Spain is achieving this 'good AI'", he emphasised, before highlighting the significant investment made by the Government through the National AI Strategy, launched in 2020 and reinforced in 2024, and which has received funding of more than €1.5 billion.

A financial boost that has enabled the development of measures, resources and projects such as the Law on the Proper Use and Governance of AI; the ban in Europe on sexual 'deepfakes'; the international coalition for the protection of minors at the UN promoted by this Government; the establishment of numerous chairs in AI, cybersecurity and chip technology at the country's universities; the promotion of vocational training qualifications in AI; the creation of open and sovereign language models such as ALIA; investing in leading Spanish companies such as Multiverse, Sherpa AI, Submer, SENSIA and Universal DX; and helping SMEs and the self-employed with digitalisation through the Kit Digital and Kit Consulting programmes.

In his speech, the minister stated that the Government wants Spain to be not just a leader but a "benchmark", noting that this "means staying ahead of events". For this reason, he explained, the Government is pushing ahead with defining the model for data centres through a Royal Decree to regulate requirements regarding energy and environmental sustainability, resilience and digital sovereignty. "We want more data centres, of course, but we want the best data centres - those that are sustainable, efficient and sovereign."

López stated that this is "a coherent and relevant initiative". "It is time to decide whether we want a digital bubble or a robust, sovereign and sustainable infrastructure", he added, before pointing out that countries such as the US and the Netherlands have already introduced measures to regulate these facilities. "This is not a moratorium on data centres; it is about bringing order to our model. All projects are welcome, provided they are well-organised and of high quality. Orderly development is not a hindrance but a mark of distinction for the Spanish digital economy", he asserted, adding that "Spain is shifting toward green data centres" and that this move will prove successful.

Non official translation