Google Parent Alphabet Announces £5bn UK AI Investment
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has unveiled a £5 billion ($6.8 billion) investment in the United Kingdom’s artificial intelligence sector, marking one of the largest technology commitments by a U.S. company in recent years. The announcement comes just days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK.
The funding will be spread over the next two years and will focus on infrastructure development and advanced scientific research, including a significant expansion of DeepMind, Google’s London-based AI division led by British Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Demis Hassabis. DeepMind is at the forefront of using AI to accelerate breakthroughs in areas like healthcare and energy.
As part of the investment, Alphabet will officially open a $1 billion (£735 million) data centre in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday. The launch event will be attended by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Alphabet says the facility will feature energy-efficient systems, including air cooling instead of water cooling, with captured heat being repurposed to warm schools and homes.
Google has also signed a deal with Shell to ensure that 95% of its UK operations run on carbon-free energy, as concerns grow globally over the environmental impact of large-scale data centres.
In an exclusive interview with BBC News, Alphabet’s President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat said the UK offers “profound opportunities” for cutting-edge scientific work. She described the growing cooperation between the two countries as a “special US-UK technology relationship”, emphasizing the need for collaboration to address both the opportunities and risks presented by AI.
Porat credited the UK government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan for helping create a favorable environment for such investments but cautioned that fully harnessing the benefits of AI “is not a foregone conclusion.”
The announcement comes amid a surge in U.S. investment interest in the UK, with other American tech giants expected to reveal multi-billion-dollar deals in the coming days. Analysts say these developments, combined with expectations of potential interest rate adjustments, have contributed to the strengthening of the British pound.
Alphabet’s move coincides with a historic milestone for the company. On Monday, Alphabet became the fourth firm ever to reach a $3 trillion market valuation, joining tech giants Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The company’s stock has climbed sharply in recent weeks following a U.S. court decision that blocked attempts to break up its search business.
Porat also addressed growing public concern about AI’s impact on jobs, warning that if companies focus solely on automation for cost-cutting, the economic benefits of AI could be lost. She emphasized that the technology should “collaborate with people rather than replace them”, particularly in fields such as healthcare, nursing, and radiology.
“Each one of us needs to start using AI so you can understand how it can be an assistance to what you’re doing, as opposed to actually fearing it and watching from the sidelines,” she said.
The announcement underscores the UK’s ambition to position itself as a global hub for AI innovation while balancing economic growth with ethical and environmental considerations.
