- Portugal has launched Amalia, the nation’s first open-source AI model, aimed at increasing AI sovereignty and reducing dependence on US providers.
- This move follows a broader trend in Europe, where France and Germany have supported companies like Mistral AI and Aleph Alpha to develop domestic models.
- Amalia is not intended for the general public, but rather serves as a foundational platform for state agencies, businesses, universities, and researchers to build AI applications.
- The model was developed by a coalition of Portuguese universities and research institutes with government backing.
- The project received 5.5 million euros, equivalent to approximately 6.26 million USD, from the European Union’s recovery fund.
- Prime Minister Luis Montenegro asserted that Europe’s strategic sovereignty is increasingly tied to AI, and Amalia will reduce technological dependence.
- The government expects Amalia to boost productivity in banking, insurance, telecommunications, industry, and the public sector.
- The model, its training datasets, and source code have all been released under an open-source license.
- Initial applications include museum tour guides, decision-making support for the navy, lesson planning assistants, and public service assistants.
- Amalia leverages the Deucalion and MareNostrum 5 supercomputers to train and operate large-scale AI models efficiently.
- 📌 Conclusion: Portugal joins the wave of building open-source AI in Europe with Amalia, a project backed by an investment of 5.5 million euros, equivalent to approximately 6.26 million USD. Instead of competing directly in the consumer market, Amalia serves as a foundational platform for multiple sectors ranging from public services and education to national defense and finance. Publicly releasing the source code, training datasets, and leveraging supercomputing infrastructure also demonstrate a strategy to enhance AI sovereignty and reduce dependence on foreign platforms.
