Sword Health to invest €250M by 2028 in AI global hub for health
The company will also double the number of engineers to 700 and the recruitment of professionals with doctorates will be a priority too.
Sword Health will invest €250 million in Portugal by 2028 to create a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare and will double the number of engineers to 700, the technology company announced on Monday.
The company, which is active in healthcare through AI, will reinforce its investment in the Portuguese market and double the number of engineers by 2028.
Sword Health “is currently Europe’s leading exporter of artificial intelligence in healthcare, and this investment aims to drive the creation of a global innovation hub for the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare in Portugal”, the technology company said in a statement.
“Sword Health’s investment focuses on three strategic pillars: qualified human resources, technological infrastructure and research & development, with a focus on training artificial intelligence models”, it added.
“This investment of €250 million in Portugal, until 2028, reflects our belief that the country has all the conditions to become a world leader in artificial intelligence and also reinforces our vision for a more innovative Portugal, capable of elevating its talent and creating global solutions and world leaders. This is the example that Sword wants to set in the national ecosystem”, said Virgílio Bento, CEO and founder of Sword Health, quoted in a statement.
The technology company has “more than 600,000 patients treated on three continents and 9 million AI sessions carried out” and plans to “quadruple its turnover by 2027”. Operational growth “will only be possible by reinforcing its structure in Portugal”, says the unicorn (startup valued at more than one billion dollars).
A global leader in AI Health, with the largest team of engineers dedicated to artificial intelligence in the health sector, Sword’s annual investment in human resources by 2028 “will increase from €30 million to €60 million, in line with the growth of the team operating in Portugal, which will increase from around 500 to more than 930 people”.
The number of engineers will more than double during this period, from 340 to over 700, according to the technology company. “In a sector where the academic qualifications of the teams are directly associated with the companies’ capacity for innovation and prosperity, the recruitment of professionals with doctorates will also be a priority”, says the company.
Sword Health also states that it plans to “finance and integrate recent graduates and researchers by awarding more than 60 doctoral and master’s scholarships by 2028, reinforcing Sword’s connection to academia and research”.
The technology company will invest “in advanced artificial intelligence computing infrastructure for the creation and training of “foundational models”: €10 million as of 2026, with the annual figure expected to reach €27 million by 2028”.
At the same time, “it will continue to invest in developing the infrastructure that supports its solutions, as well as expanding its operations in Portugal and Europe”, it says.
According to the company, investment in R&D will double over the next three years, which “aims to strengthen the capacity for scientific and technological innovation, boosting collaborations with Portuguese universities and research centres”.
