Google is the latest American giant to announce a large-scale investment in Europe.
Alphabet’s Google said it would invest 5 billion pounds ($6.78 billion) in the U.K. over the next two years, the latest big-ticket commitment from an American tech giant seeking to expand artificial-intelligence infrastructure and other services in Europe.
Google Pledges Nearly $7 Billion in U.K. Investments
The company said the investment—covering AI, energy capacity, workforce training, research and development, and related engineering—would add more than 8,000 jobs a year at businesses across the U.K.
“With today’s announcement, Google is deepening our roots in the U.K. and helping support Great Britain’s potential with AI to add 400 billion pounds to the economy by 2030 while also enhancing critical social services,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer at Alphabet and Google, said in a statement.
Google is the latest American giant to announce a large-scale investment in Europe. Advancements in AI have ushered in a wave of spending from companies seeking to bolster their AI offering and satisfy growing demand for data centers that have become essential to power the technology.
Oracle said in July that it would invest $3 billion to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure in Germany and the Netherlands over the next five years. Microsoft in October unveiled plans to spend about $4.75 billion over two years in cloud and AI infrastructure in Italy.
Amazon.com said in June last year that it was planning to invest 17.8 billion euros ($20.89 billion) through 2040 to expand its logistics network and cloud infrastructure in Germany. The e-commerce giant also laid out plans to invest 15.7 billion euros over the next decade to expand its cloud services in Spain.
Google’s investment pledge came as the company announced the opening of a data center north of London at an event attended by U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves. The company said the facility would help meet growing demand for AI-powered services like Google Cloud, Workspace, Search and Maps.
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