Tech companies in the US invest £30 billion in the UK during Trump's visit to Britain
The U.K. is witnessing a surge of investment from tech giants, with a total of £31 billion pledged over the next few years. This flurry of investment is a testament to Britain's booming AI sector, according to U.K. Tech Secretary Liz Kendall.
Microsoft has announced an investment of £22 billion in the U.K. over the next four years, with around half of that figure allocated for capital expenditures on AI infrastructure. The company is partnering with Nscale to build Britain's largest AI supercomputer in Loughton, Essex, using 23,000 Nvidia chips.
Nvidia is also playing a significant role, planning to ship up to 120,000 advanced GPUs to British data centers in total. These investments, funded by Microsoft, Nscale, OpenAI, and CoreWeave, will power the data centers. Around half of those GPUs will go to British data center firm Nscale.
Google is committing £5 billion in the U.K. over the next two years, with a new data center in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. The U.S. AI startup Scale AI will also invest more than £39 million in the U.K. over the next two years, expanding its European HQ in London and quadrupling its employees by the end of next year.
The first data centers for Stargate UK, a massive AI infrastructure scheme announced by OpenAI, Nscale, and Nvidia, will be located on the site of a former coal power station in Northumberland, north-east England. Stargate UK aims to "accelerate scientific breakthroughs, improve productivity, and drive economic growth," according to OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman.
The U.K. government has designated the site near Blyth as an AI Growth Zone. The visit of President Donald Trump to Britain is coinciding with these announcements, and the two countries are set to sign a "Technology Prosperity Deal" on Thursday, pledging closer co-operation on AI, quantum, space, and nuclear energy.
Global asset manager BlackRock is putting £500 million into U.K. data centers, including £100 million for the expansion of a site west of London. AI cloud computing company CoreWeave is investing a total of £1.5 billion in the United Kingdom and plans to expand a data center near Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, powered by renewable energy and using Nvidia chips.
Oracle has reaffirmed a previously-announced $5 billion investment in the U.K. These investments underscore the confidence of global tech companies in the U.K.'s AI sector and its potential for growth. The U.K. government and tech industry are working together to position the country as a global leader in AI technology.
