Microsoft is to invest $30 billion (£22bn) into the UK to ‘power the AI future’.
The pledge follows news of Google’s commitment to investing £5bn into the UK and its AI infrastructure following the recent opening of a data centre.
US President Donald Trump is currently on his second state visit to the UK. A wave of reciprocal UK-US investments were announced at the start of the week across technology and financial services to coincide with the trip.
Brad Smith, vice chair & president of fellow tech giant Microsoft, said the alliance between the UK and United States ‘enters another new chapter as we work together to expand access to trusted American technology and strengthen the infrastructure that will drive economic growth and technological advancement in the AI era’.
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The $30bn investment will be made during the four years from 2025-2028 and marks the largest financial commitment Microsoft has made in the UK.
It includes $15bn in capital expenditures to build out the UK’s cloud and AI infrastructure, which will enable Microsoft to build the country’s largest supercomputer — with more than 23,000 NVIDIA GPUs — in partnership with Nscale.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Microsoft’s landmark investment is a powerful vote of confidence in the UK’s leadership in AI and cutting-edge technology.
“This commitment will not only strengthen our digital infrastructure and support thousands of highly skilled jobs, but also ensure Britain remains at the forefront of global innovation as we deliver on our Plan for Change.
“We are proud to partner with world-leading companies like Microsoft to build a future powered by British ingenuity and ambition.”
Microsoft’s capital investment will also expand its data centre footprint to meet growing AI demand and adoption from its customers across every sector in the UK – including Barclays, the NHS, the London Stock Exchange Group, the Premier League, Vodafone, UK Met Office, Unilever and Wayve.
Vodafone has expanded Microsoft Copilot to 68,000 employees worldwide after seeing productivity gains of four hours per week during its pilot, Smith claimed, while Barclays is rolling out Copilot to 100,000 colleagues.
The other half of Microsoft’s investment will support its ongoing operations across the UK, including its workforce of 6,000 employees, located in multiple sites and cities.
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