"Dime con quién andas, y te diré quién eres."
Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are. — A reminder that in a week of new alliances — OpenAI choosing Madrid, Uber betting on robotaxis, and Mourinho returning to the Bernabéu — the company a city, or a club, keeps says everything about its future.
Good morning from a capital that refuses to slow down. The sun is out, the thermometers are flirting with 30°C, and Madrid is buzzing with news from every corner — from the tarmac at Barajas to the boardrooms of tech giants, from the Bernabéu to the robotaxis of tomorrow. The Feria del Libro enters its final weekend in El Retiro, the last of the Pope's flower petals have been swept from Cibeles, and the city settles into that peculiar June rhythm where the days are long, the terraces are full, and every conversation seems to begin with '¿Has visto lo de...?' Whether you are nursing a café con leche in Plaza de Santa Ana or braving the Gran Vía crowds, you are exactly where you need to be. Madrid is calling — pick up.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, announced Thursday that it will open its first Spanish office in Madrid in the second half of 2026, reinforcing Spain's position as one of Europe's fastest-growing artificial intelligence ecosystems. The decision comes as Spain has consolidated its status as one of the five largest European markets for the platform by weekly active users, after a year-on-year increase of more than 40%. Spain's Minister for Digital Transformation, Óscar López, welcomed the move, stating that the country's regulatory approach to AI — often seen as cautious — is in fact making Spain more competitive. 'In the world of AI, it is no longer about being the fastest and cheapest, but about being the most reliable,' López said. OpenAI already has offices in London, Paris, Brussels, and Munich, and the Madrid base will focus on collaboration with Spanish businesses, developers, research centres, and public institutions.
Real Madrid confirmed on Thursday that José Mourinho is returning as first-team coach, 13 years after his first spell at the club ended in 2013. The 63-year-old Portuguese manager leaves Benfica after the club paid a €15 million compensation fee, and has signed a contract through June 2029. The announcement fulfils a campaign promise by president Florentino Pérez, who won Sunday's club election with 65% of the vote against businessman Enrique Riquelme. Mourinho's first stint at the Bernabéu yielded one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Supercup, with his 2011–12 side setting a record 100-point league season. He will begin work with the squad on Saturday, with the club also expected to announce the arrivals of Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté and Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries. A €150 million bid for Atlético Madrid striker Julián Álvarez was rejected earlier this week.
The autonomous driving company WeRide and Uber have announced plans to launch Spain's first commercial robotaxi service in the Madrid region, marking their first autonomous mobility deployment in Europe. The service is expected to begin operations later this year in collaboration with the Comunidad de Madrid, with rides available through the Uber app. The fleet, initially staffed with trained vehicle operators, will gradually scale toward fully driverless operation across key urban areas. Madrid joins Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Riyadh in the WeRide-Uber partnership, which aims to bring autonomous mobility to 15 cities worldwide by 2030. The local fleet operations will be supported by AVOMO, a Moove Cars Group company. Dr. Tony Han, CEO of WeRide, called Madrid 'one of Europe's fastest-growing urban environments,' adding that the city demonstrates the ability to operate safely in complex real-world conditions. Uber's global head of autonomous mobility, Sarfraz Maredia, said that Madrid 'is a natural place to become a leading European market for AVs.'
Madrid's Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport experienced widespread disruption on Thursday as approximately 275 flights were delayed and at least two cancelled, affecting carriers including Iberia, Ryanair, and Air Europa. The wave of disruptions, clustered within a short window during the busy early-summer travel season, left hundreds of passengers stranded and cascaded across routes connecting Spain with Italy, Portugal, the United States, Mexico, and beyond. Iberia and Air Europa, which operate numerous daily transatlantic departures to New York, Miami, Chicago, and Mexican cities, were particularly hard hit as delayed European feeder flights caused passengers to miss their onward long-haul connections. Madrid Barajas handles well over a thousand flights daily during peak periods, meaning the roughly 275 delayed movements represented a significant share of operations. Industry observers cautioned that with traffic running close to pre-pandemic levels and airlines tightly scheduling fleets, Europe's aviation network remains fragile and similar incidents may recur as the summer progresses.