The IACOB project is an ambitious long-term project which is contributing to step forward in our knowledge about the physical properties and evolution of Galactic massive stars. The project aims at building a large database of high-resolution, multi-
epoch, spectra of Galactic OB stars, and the scientific exploitation of the database using state-of-the-art models and techniques. In this proceeding, we summarize the latest updates of the IACOB spectroscopic database and highlight some of the first scientific results from the IACOB project; we also announce the first data release and the first public version of the iacob-broad tool for the line-broadening characterization of OB-type spectra.
The IACOB spectroscopic survey of Galactic OB stars is an ambitious observational project aimed at compiling a large, homogeneous, high-resolution database of optical spectra of massive stars observable from the Northern hemisphere. The quantitative
spectroscopic analysis of this database, complemented by the invaluable information provided by Gaia (mainly regarding photometry and distances), will represent a major step forward in our knowledge of the fundamental physical characteristics of Galactic massive stars. In addition, results from this analysis will be of interest for other scientific questions to be investigated using Gaia observations. In this contribution we outline the present status of the IACOB spectroscopic database and indicate briefly some of the synergy links between the IACOB and Gaia scientific projects.
