Microsoft Announces $30 Billion Investment In AI Infrastructure, Operations In UK
(Tuesday September 16, 2025 @11:30PM (BeauHD)
from the spending-commitments dept.)
- Reference: 0179298288
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/09/16/2032219/microsoft-announces-30-billion-investment-in-ai-infrastructure-operations-in-uk
- Source link:
Microsoft will [1]invest $30 billion in the U.K. through 2028 to expand AI infrastructure and operations, including building the country's largest supercomputer with 23,000 GPUs in partnership with Nscale. CNBC reports:
> On a call with reporters on Tuesday, Microsoft President Brad Smith said his stance on the U.K. has warmed over the years. He previously criticized the country over its attempt in 2023 to block the tech giant's $69 billion acquisition of video game developer Activision-Blizzard. The deal was cleared by the U.K.s competition regulator later that year.
>
> "I haven't always been optimistic every single day about the business climate in the U.K.," Smith said. However, he added, "I am very encouraged by the steps that the government has taken over the last few years." "Just a few years ago, this kind of investment would have been inconceivable because of the regulatory climate then and because there just wasn't the need or demand for this kind of large AI investment," Smith said.
Microsoft's announcement comes as President Donald Trump embarks on a state visit to Britain where he's expected to sign a new deal with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer "to unlock investment and collaboration in AI, Quantum, and Nuclear technologies," the government said in a statement late Tuesday.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/16/tech-giants-to-pour-billions-into-uk-ai-heres-what-we-know-so-far.html
> On a call with reporters on Tuesday, Microsoft President Brad Smith said his stance on the U.K. has warmed over the years. He previously criticized the country over its attempt in 2023 to block the tech giant's $69 billion acquisition of video game developer Activision-Blizzard. The deal was cleared by the U.K.s competition regulator later that year.
>
> "I haven't always been optimistic every single day about the business climate in the U.K.," Smith said. However, he added, "I am very encouraged by the steps that the government has taken over the last few years." "Just a few years ago, this kind of investment would have been inconceivable because of the regulatory climate then and because there just wasn't the need or demand for this kind of large AI investment," Smith said.
Microsoft's announcement comes as President Donald Trump embarks on a state visit to Britain where he's expected to sign a new deal with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer "to unlock investment and collaboration in AI, Quantum, and Nuclear technologies," the government said in a statement late Tuesday.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/16/tech-giants-to-pour-billions-into-uk-ai-heres-what-we-know-so-far.html
Re: (Score:2)
I guess that Trump couldn't blackmail M$.
Re: (Score:1)
Trump doesn't agree to anything unless he gets a big cut of the action.
Re: (Score:2)
To answer why not America? Maybe it is Trump. England is embracing cheap energy, and Trump is embracing dirty, expensive Oil energy. I personally like the idea that if a country has, for example, cheap wind and solar, then maybe they should host the more power hungry data centers.