Google will invest £5bn in the UK over the next two years to support growing demands for artificial intelligence services. The investment will contribute to creating 8,250 jobs annually at UK businesses and includes opening the company's first UK data centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves described the announcement as a "vote of confidence" in the UK economy. The investment will boost research and development, capital expenditure and engineering across Google's UK operations.
The timing coincides with Donald Trump's state visit to Britain, where he and Sir Keir Starmer are widely expected to sign a new UK-US tech deal. Reports suggest ChatGPT parent firm OpenAI and Nvidia will also unveil billions of dollars' worth of investment into UK data centres this week.
Political Opposition
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has criticised the proposed tech deal as a "Silicon Valley stitch-up" that benefits tech billionaires while undermining child online safety protections. He demanded the government puts any agreement to a parliamentary vote.
"I am really concerned the government is going to agree to a Silicon Valley stitch-up that hands tax cuts to tech billionaires while undermining protections for our children online," Sir Ed said. He added: "We can't let the government sign up to a deal that benefits Elon Musk at the expense of the British people."
According to BBC, Google President Ruth Porat described a "US-UK special technology relationship" with both opportunities and potential risks. The political tensions highlight concerns about Silicon Valley's influence on British policy.
Technology Innovation
The investment will include "pioneering" AI research in science and healthcare through Google's DeepMind operation. DeepMind co-founder and chief executive Demis Hassabis said: "We founded DeepMind in London because we knew the UK had the potential and talent to be a global hub for pioneering AI."
BBC reports the new data centre will be air-cooled with heat captured for local schools and homes, powered by 95% carbon-free energy through a Shell partnership. The facility represents Google's commitment to environmental sustainability alongside technological advancement.
According to City A.M, Google currently lags behind Microsoft and Amazon, who each control approximately 40% of the UK cloud computing market. The £5bn investment aims to strengthen Google's competitive position in the rapidly growing AI and cloud services sector.
Sources used: "Sky News", "Evening Standard", "BBC", "City A.M" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
