Google’s transatlantic Nuvem subsea cable has been successfully connected in Portugal, the company announced.

The cable links Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with Sines, south of Lisbon, via Bermuda and the ​Azores, and was given an official landing ceremony in Bermuda last month.

This week’s link-up with Portugal creates another US-Europe data route as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence services surges.

The Nuvem cable system spans 4,349 miles, and comprises 16 fibre pairs with a total design ⁠capacity of around 384 terabits ​per second.

Giorgia Abeltino, head of government affairs and ​public policy ​for Google Cloud Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Nuvem marks Google's second major cable project in Portugal, following Equiano in 2022 and preceding the upcoming Nuvem and Sol cable landings in the Azores.

“Subsea cables carry the overwhelming majority of the world's data traffic — they are the invisible backbone of everything from AI to digital public services.”

Members of Google’s infrastructural team met with government and other dignitaries last month at Annie’s Bay, St David’s, to welcome the landing of Nuvem, and also Sol, a second transatlantic cable which will link Florida with Spain.

“Just as Bermudian cedar was the 17th-century accelerator to make you a shipping hub, these submarine cables make you the digital exchange hub directly between North America and Europe,” said Brian Quigley, the vice-president of global infrastructure for Google Cloud, at the Bermuda event.

Reuters reported that Goncalo Matias, Portugal’s state reform and innovation minister, said Nuvem was part of a ​broader strategy to make Portugal a hub for data centres, AI ​and innovation, while bolstering Europe’s digital resilience and sovereignty.

Two high-capacity subsea cables already link Portugal with other continents — the Google-owned Equiano cable that runs ‌to South Africa via other African countries, and the ‌EllaLink ⁠that runs to Brazil from Sines.