Britain and the United States have sealed a technology pact that combines investment with strategic cooperation in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and civil nuclear energy.
The agreement positions Britain as a hub for AI and data infrastructure, with US firms pledging £31 billion ($42 billion) in commitments across cloud, semiconductors, and nuclear research, as per a Reuters report.
For Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the pact is also a response to pressure to revive economic growth, signalling a push for investment-friendly regulation while avoiding the more interventionist approach of the European Union.
Microsoft leads with £22 billion AI supercomputer project
Microsoft confirmed it will invest £22 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure, including Britain’s largest AI supercomputer, to be built in Loughton, north-east London.
The move strengthens Britain’s role in AI development and expands Microsoft’s existing ties, following the resolution of regulatory tensions over its Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chair and CEO, outlined plans to use the investment to secure reliable transatlantic technology cooperation.
The announcement comes as Starmer seeks to position Britain as an attractive market for global technology firms, highlighting the UK’s regulatory flexibility compared to the European Union.
Nvidia deploys 120,000 GPUs in largest European rollout
Nvidia said it would deploy 120,000 graphics processing units across Britain, its biggest rollout in Europe to date.
The investment includes plans to bring up to 60,000 Grace Blackwell Ultra chips through a tie-up with Nscale, supporting OpenAI’s operations in the UK.
Nvidia vice president David Hogan said the expansion would mark a shift from Britain being “an AI taker” to becoming an AI developer.
The deployment of GPUs underpins Britain’s growing role in hosting large-scale AI models and computing capacity, which are central to health research and quantum computing innovation.
Google, CoreWeave, and other firms expand UK presence
Google announced a £5 billion investment, with a new data centre in Waltham Cross, north of London, and continued funding for DeepMind’s AI research.
The expansion underscores its long-term UK presence and role in AI development.
Cloud computing company CoreWeave confirmed a £1.5 billion investment in partnership with Scottish data firm DataVita, bringing its total UK investment to £2.5 billion.
Its focus will be on energy-efficient data centres, adding infrastructure capacity that complements Microsoft and Nvidia’s deployments.
Other US companies have also pledged funds. Salesforce, Scale AI, BlackRock, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and AI Pathfinder will together add billions of pounds in commitments, ranging from cloud services to investment in AI systems.
Pact adds nuclear and quantum cooperation to growth agenda
The pact also covers joint projects in civil nuclear energy and quantum computing.
Britain said the agreement would streamline nuclear development, boosting energy security while linking transatlantic research.
It also includes collaborations in quantum systems, aiming to expand computing capabilities in both countries.
The US remains Britain’s largest single-country trading partner.
While Donald Trump’s administration had previously criticised European digital tax and online safety rules, such issues were not part of the negotiations.
Instead, the focus remained on AI, energy, and scientific research.
For Starmer, who has faced sustained pressure to accelerate Britain’s economic recovery after years of weak growth, the pact offers a path to attract high-value investment.
The scale of commitment—£31 billion—gives the UK one of the largest inflows of US-led technology investment in its history.
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