In a significant vote of confidence for the UK’s tech sector, four major US technology firms have announced plans to invest a combined £6.3 billion ($7.9 billion) in data center infrastructure across Britain. The move, welcomed by Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, is set to fuel economic growth and accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) development in the country.
CyrusOne, ServiceNow, Cloud HQ, and CoreWeave unveiled their investment plans at the International Investment Summit, bringing the total investment in UK data centers to over £25 billion since the current government took office. This surge in investment underscores the UK’s growing reputation as a hub for data infrastructure and AI innovation.
“Tech leaders from all over the world are seeing Britain as the best place to invest with a thriving and stable market for data centres and AI development,” said Mr. Kyle. He emphasized the critical role of data centers in powering daily life and fostering innovation in emerging sectors like AI.
The largest single investment comes from CloudHQ, which is developing a £1.9 billion data center campus in Didcot, Oxfordshire. The project is expected to create 1,500 construction jobs and 100 permanent positions upon completion.
ServiceNow, a global AI platform and software leader, pledged £1.15 billion over the next five years to expand its UK operations, including enhancing its data centers with Nvidia GPUs for local data processing. CyrusOne plans to invest £2.5 billion in the coming years, potentially creating over 1,000 jobs, while AI hyperscaler CoreWeave committed an additional £750 million on top of its earlier £1 billion investment announced in May.
These investments follow the UK government’s recent classification of data centers as Critical National Infrastructure, providing the sector with greater support and stability. The move has been cited by several companies as a key factor in their decision to invest in the UK.
The influx of capital is expected to bolster the UK’s computing power and data storage capabilities, facilitating the training and deployment of next-generation AI technologies. This infrastructure boost could accelerate AI applications in crucial areas such as healthcare, potentially improving quality of life for British citizens.
As the UK positions itself as a global leader in AI and data infrastructure, the government continues to work closely with the private sector to drive sustained growth and innovation across the economy.