Microsoft invests big in Britain to drive AI

Microsoft’s plan to pump £2.5bn into Britain over the next three years, its single largest investment in the country to date, will underpin future growth in artificial intelligence (AI), the UK government said.

Britain, where the economy is forecast to be sluggish in the coming years, is pushing for private investment to help fund new infrastructure, particularly in growth industries such as AI.

The funding, announced at a summit hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday, will more than double Microsoft’s data-centre footprint in Britain, providing the infrastructure crucial for new AI models to work.

“Today’s announcement is a turning point for the future of AI infrastructure and development in the UK,” Sunak said in a statement on Thursday.

Microsoft’s plan comes despite comments by its president, Brad Smith, in April that a decision by the UK antitrust regulator that went against the US company put the tech industry’s confidence in Britain at risk.

Since then, the regulator has waved through a restructured version of Microsoft’s $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard, putting Britain back in Microsoft’s favour.

“Microsoft is committed as a company to ensuring that the UK as a country has worldleading AI infrastructure,” Smith said in the statement released as he hosted finance minister Jeremy Hunt at a data centre being constructed in north London.

As part of the deal Microsoft will provide more than 20,000 of the most advanced graphics processing units. It includes a training plan to help ensure Britons have the skills they need to build and work with AI, the government added.

THE REGULATOR HAS WAVED THROUGH A RESTRUCTURED VERSION OF MICROSOFT’S $69BN ACQUISITION OF ACTIVISION BLIZZARD