Four US technology companies have announced plans to invest a combined £6.3 billion in data center infrastructure in the United Kingdom. This significant investment is a testament to the UK’s thriving and stable market for data centers and artificial intelligence development.
The announcement was made during the Government’s International Investment Summit on Monday. CyrusOne, ServiceNow, CloudHQ, and CoreWeave have outlined their investment plans, which include building new data centers, expanding office space, and creating jobs.
CloudHQ, for example, plans to develop a new £1.9 billion data center in Didcot, Oxfordshire, which is expected to create 1,500 jobs during construction and 100 permanent jobs once operational. ServiceNow will invest £1.15 billion in its UK business over the next five years, while CyrusOne and CoreWeave have committed £2.5 billion and £750 million respectively.
The UK government has taken steps to support the data center industry, recently classifying them as Critical National Infrastructure. This designation provides additional support and protection to the sector, similar to the water and energy industries.
Technology and Science Secretary Peter Kyle expressed his enthusiasm for the investment, stating that it is a “vote of confidence in Britain and our approach to work with business to deliver sustained growth for all.”
The latest deals follow previous significant investments in the UK data center market, including Blackstone’s commitment of £10 billion to create Europe’s largest AI data center and Amazon Web Services’ plans to spend £8 billion on data center infrastructure.
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