On July 24, 2026, Andalusia’s minister for artificial intelligence, digital development and public administration, José Antonio Nieto, said the regional government would focus AI applications in Córdoba province on defence and logistics, aiming to make the province more attractive to those sectors and support their development.
Speaking during a visit to El Patio in Córdoba, one of four accelerators in the Andalucía Open Future initiative run in collaboration with Telefónica, Nieto outlined three challenges for his new department: reducing bureaucracy through AI, building a digital ecosystem and developing a proactive administration that anticipates citizens’ needs. Córdoba Mayor José María Bellido accompanied him.
Nieto said the regional government was committed to creating a digital ecosystem that could place Andalusia among the leading territories in technology and AI development. He met with the centre’s managers, startups and entrepreneurs to learn about their projects and discuss AI opportunities for economic and social transformation.
The minister said the new department followed a strategy begun in 2021, when the Junta’s information and communications technology systems and staff were brought together in the Andalusia Digital Agency (ADA). He described that step as providing the maturity needed to make digital transformation a strategic government policy. He also said AI could help modernise public administration, improve public services and create opportunities for economic growth and employment.
The department’s first stated challenge is to build a technology ecosystem that attracts talent, creates opportunities and supports innovative businesses. Its second is to use AI to reduce bureaucracy, simplify procedures and provide more accessible and efficient services. The third is to make the administration proactive, using AI across the regional government’s work to anticipate people’s needs and offer solutions before they ask for them.
Nieto said technological leadership would require close cooperation among public administrations, businesses, universities and research centres. The Junta said the technology sector accounts for almost 18% of Andalusia’s GDP, nearly five percentage points more than a decade ago.
Andalucía Open Future, a joint initiative of ADA and Telefónica, has supported 542 startups since it began in 2014. Its four accelerators are El Patio in Córdoba, El Cubo in Seville, La Farola in Málaga and El Cable in Almería. Of the 91 startups that have taken part at El Patio, 57 completed the acceleration programme, 26 have generated revenue and seven have attracted investment. Fourteen projects are currently being accelerated there: nine from the second 2025 call and five added in May 2026.
Nieto also visited a course run by Aprende Volando at the ADA technology hub in Córdoba, established with the EOI. By June 2026, the digital-skills programme had delivered 521,541 training sessions to 43,356 participants. It offers more than 140 free online and in-person courses.