U.S. Tech Giants Pledge $743 Billion to UK AI, Quantum Computing

During the state visit to the UK by the U.S. President, the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced a landmark "Tech Prosperity Agreement" between the UK and the U.S. This agreement pledges over 310 billion pounds (423 billion USD) in investments from American tech giants into AI systems, quantum computing projects, and other technological initiatives in the UK. The visit was accompanied by several Silicon Valley CEOs, including those from NVIDIA and OpenAI, who also introduced OpenAI's "Stargate" project to the UK.

In a significant move, major U.S. tech companies, including Microsoft and OpenAI, have announced plans to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the UK's technology infrastructure. This announcement comes as the U.S. President visits the UK, accompanied by several Silicon Valley CEOs, including those from NVIDIA and OpenAI. OpenAI is also introducing its "Stargate" project to the UK as part of this initiative.

Microsoft's President, Brad Smith, announced in a blog post that the company will invest over 300 billion USD (approximately 220 billion pounds) over the next four years to expand its cloud and AI facilities in the UK. This investment includes a collaboration with the British company Nscale to build the UK's largest supercomputer, equipped with over 23,000 advanced GPUs. Microsoft's Chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, emphasized the company's commitment to doubling down on its investments in the UK.

The UK Prime Minister welcomed this investment, describing it as a strong vote of confidence in the UK's leadership in AI. The Prime Minister also noted that this commitment will bolster the UK's digital infrastructure and support thousands of high-skilled jobs. Other major participants in this initiative have also made significant pledges:

Google has announced a two-year investment plan of 50 billion pounds, including the establishment of a new data center in Hertfordshire. This investment is expected to create 8,250 jobs for British businesses annually. AI cloud service provider CoreWeave has added 15 billion pounds to its investment, bringing its total investment in the UK over the past year to 250 million pounds. CoreWeave plans to collaborate with the Scottish company DataVita to build a large AI data center powered by renewable energy. Salesforce has committed to investing an additional 20 billion USD by 2030 to establish its UK operations as the AI hub of Europe. Oracle and Amazon Web Services have also reaffirmed or announced multi-billion-pound investment commitments in the UK.

One of the key outcomes of the "Tech Prosperity Agreement" is the launch of the "Stargate UK" project. This initiative, led by the British company Nscale in collaboration with NVIDIA and OpenAI, aims to establish a top-tier AI infrastructure. NVIDIA's CEO described the current period as the "big bang of the AI era" and highlighted the UK's strategic position. To support this project and the broader AI ecosystem, NVIDIA plans to deploy 120,000 advanced GPUs in the UK, marking its largest deployment in Europe to date. Nscale's CEO emphasized the company's role in proving that the UK can be a creator, rather than a consumer, of the most important technologies of this era. Notably, Arm, a British-based semiconductor design company, has integrated its designs into NVIDIA's latest Grace Blackwell series chips. OpenAI's CEO also highlighted that "Stargate UK" will accelerate scientific breakthroughs and economic growth.