On July 1, 2026, Portugal officially released Amália (AMALIA), its first home-grown open-source large language model built specifically for European Portuguese (pt-PT). The model, dataset, and source code are provided under open-source licenses, adding to Europe's growing push for "tech sovereignty."
July 1, 2026 · Portugal · Tech Sovereignty
Portugal launches Amália, its first homegrown open-source LLM
A "fully open" foundation model — weights, dataset and code all public — tuned for European Portuguese and built to power public-sector AI in education, defense, health, culture and citizen services.
€5.5M
Initial investment via the PRR, with more funding secured through end-2027
60+
Researchers & students across NOVA, IST, Coimbra, Minho & Porto
3×
Open: model + dataset + source code all released together
Where the €5.5M went
Lead-institution funding allocation, in € millions
The technical spec
Base model EuroLLM-9B Target language pt-PT Modality Text + Image Infrastructure Deucalion, MareNostrum 5
From reveal to release
Dec 2024 Unveiled at the Web Summit
Sep 2025 Base version completed
Mar 2026 Technical report submitted
Jul 2026 Fully open-source launch
The bigger picture
Part of Europe's push for tech sovereignty — owning local AI adapted to language and culture, alongside Switzerland's Apertus and Poland's PLLuM.
Amália fills a gap: no prior model handled the nuances of European Portuguese (distinct from Brazilian pt-BR), with hoped-for ripple effects across the Lusophone world.
Strengths
Top score among open-source models on long-form national-exam comprehension
Fully open weights, code & data — strong base for derivative apps
Positive reception at the PROPOR conference in Brazil
Limitations
Not a consumer chatbot — a base platform, not a ready product
Initially prioritizes the public sector
Large-scale real-world evaluation still limited at launch
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