Microsoft Invests $3.2 Billion in UK to Accelerate AI Innovation

UK to Benefit from Microsoft's $3.2 Billion Investment in AI

The UK government said Microsoft's (MSFT.O) decision to invest 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) in Britain over the next three years, its single greatest investment in the country to date, will support future growth in artificial intelligence (AI).

Britain, where the economy is expected to slow in the coming years, is asking for private investment to help pay for new infrastructure, particularly in growing areas such as artificial intelligence.

The initiative, which was initially revealed on Monday at a conference held by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, would more than double Microsoft's data centre presence in the UK, providing the infrastructure required for new AI models to function.

"Today's announcement marks a watershed moment in the UK's AI infrastructure and development," Sunak said in a statement on Thursday.

Microsoft's move comes despite statements made by its president, Brad Smith, in April that a judgement by the country's antitrust authority that favoured the US corporation jeopardised the tech industry's faith in Britain.

Since then, a restructured version of Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been approved by the UK regulator, placing Britain back in Microsoft's favour.

"Microsoft is committed as a company to ensuring that the UK as a country has world-leading AI infrastructure," Smith said in a statement published as he hosted Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt at a data centre being built in north London.

As part of the agreement announced on Thursday, Microsoft will transfer more than 20,000 of the most modern Graphics Processing Units to the UK, a technology critical to machine learning and AI development, according to a government statement.

The investment also includes a training strategy to assist in guaranteeing that Britons have the skills needed to create and operate with AI.