INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Portugal’ s AMALIA LLM signals Europe’ s AI ambitions model specifically designed for European Portuguese. The multimodal platform has been trained to understand text, documents, images and speech while reflecting Portugal’ s linguistic, legal and cultural context.
Portugal has unveiled AMALIA, the country’ s first large language model developed in European Portuguese, marking a significant milestone in its ambitions to become a leading force in European artificial intelligence.
Launched in Lisbon by Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, the open model was presented as evidence that Portugal can deliver globally relevant technology while strengthening Europe’ s drive for greater digital sovereignty.
Speaking at the launch, Montenegro said AMALIA demonstrated the country’ s ability to lead complex technology projects with international impact. He argued that Portugal should position itself as both a promoter and a beacon of innovation, drawing on the expertise of its universities, researchers and public institutions to create solutions with lasting economic and social value.
The Prime Minister said artificial intelligence must move beyond technical achievement and generate practical benefits for citizens and businesses. He described a future in which AI supports faster, simpler and more efficient public services, helping create a Public Administration capable of driving progress while improving everyday interactions between government, organisations and the public.
Montenegro also stressed that investment in digital capability must be matched by continued support for public sector careers and skills. Building a modern state, he argued, requires talented people alongside advanced technology, enabling government departments to respond effectively to the challenges created by rapid Digital Transformation.
He said the State should remain at the centre of the innovation ecosystem, creating the conditions that encourage technological development while protecting individual freedoms. He linked the project to Europe’ s wider goal of achieving strategic autonomy, arguing that stronger domestic AI capabilities would help safeguard future generations, strengthen economic resilience and reduce dependence on overseas technology providers.
AMALIA was developed by a consortium of Portuguese universities and research centres as the first open large language
Unlike many proprietary AI systems, AMALIA will be released as open-source software, allowing government agencies, businesses, universities and researchers to build their own applications on top of the platform. Planned uses include improving customer service, automating administrative processes, enhancing knowledge management and supporting more informed decision-making across public services.
The project was funded through Portugal’ s Recovery and Resilience Facility programme with an initial investment of € 5.5 million. A further € 1.5 million has been allocated for 2027 to expand the model’ s capabilities and strengthen the country’ s national AI infrastructure.
For Portugal, AMALIA represents more than another AI model entering an increasingly competitive market. It signals a strategic commitment to developing sovereign AI capabilities, supporting innovation across the economy and demonstrating that smaller European nations can play an influential role in shaping the continent’ s technological future.
Success will ultimately depend on widespread adoption, sustained investment and collaboration between academia, government and industry. If those elements remain aligned, AMALIA could become both a practical foundation for next-generation public services and a showcase for Portugal’ s growing influence within Europe’ s evolving artificial intelligence landscape. •
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