This forecast comes from John Arrigo, the United States ambassador to Portugal, who made the remarks during a ceremony celebrating the successful launch of Google's new Nuvem transatlantic cable.

The Nuvem system is a subsea cable network connecting the US with Bermuda, the Azores and mainland Portugal. It is the first cable of its kind and has been built to strengthen network resilience across the Atlantic.

Ambassador Arrigo characterised the project as the strongest indication yet of a strengthening relationship between Washington and Lisbon.

He suggested that the level of upcoming investment would establish Portugal as Europe's top destination for American AI infrastructure spending, and called on other European nations to follow this lead by developing their digital futures in partnership with trusted US allies rather than risk falling behind.

The Nuvem cable has become emblematic of this expanding technological partnership.

Beyond the cable project, Portugal is increasingly attracting major data centre developments. The nation currently has upwards of 2.6 gigawatts of data centre capacity in development, with the largest single project being the 1.2 GW Start Campus scheme in Sines, located south of Lisbon.

Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Portugal Pathways; The US is set to invest $40 billion in Portugal's tech sector

This development has financial backing from American investment firm Davidson Kempner and ranks among the continent's most substantial infrastructure undertakings of its type.

America's economic presence in Portugal is already considerable. The US ranks as Portugal's third-largest source of foreign investment, holding investment stock worth nearly $20 billion across industries such as AI, energy, agriculture and tourism. The expected surge in new technology investment would add substantially to this existing foundation.

Ambassador Arrigo also commended Portugal's data governance approach, noting that its sovereign cloud framework strikes a careful balance: open enough to keep attracting major partners such as Google, yet disciplined enough to safeguard sensitive national interests. He suggested this was precisely the model other European countries should currently be considering.

Placing this within the wider European context, the ambassador argued that the real decision is not between sovereignty and partnership, but between building a digital future in cooperation with trusted allies and attempting to go it alone, risking falling behind global competitors.

Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Portugal Pathways; John Arrigo says the investment will put Portugal at the forefront of Europe for AI infrastructure

These remarks arrive amid growing rivalry among European countries competing to secure AI and data infrastructure investment, driven by worldwide demand for computing capacity, cloud services and digital connectivity that shows no sign of slowing.

Paul Stannard, chairman and founder of Portugal Pathways, said: "We see a huge level of interest from US investors, especially through Portugal's Golden Visa residency-by-investment programme.

"The growing US interest, especially at the level of this forthcoming deal, represents a significant vote of confidence in its position as a strategic gateway between Europe and North America, reinforcing Portugal's ambitions to become a key node in the transatlantic digital economy over the coming years."