Microsoft are planning to invest £2.5 billion in the UK over the next three years of artificial intelligence across the country.
The move will bring over 20,000 advanced graphic processing units that are to be used for machine learning to develop AI models by 2026.
Over the next three years the tech giant will expand datacentres for AI and the Rishi Sunak has said that this is “a turning point for the future of AI infrastructure and development in the UK.”
Sites in Cardiff and London will be expanded and Microsoft said that they are looking into a “potential expansion into northern England.”
The £2.5 billion investment will train “more than one million people for the AI economy” and Microsoft will also support AI safety alongside the government.
Microsoft vice chairman and president Brad Smith said: “Microsoft is committed as a company to ensuring that the UK as a country has world-leading AI infrastructure, easy access to the skills people need, and broad protections for safety and security.”
Mr Sunak said: “The UK started the global conversation on AI earlier this month, and Microsoft’s historic investment is further evidence of the leading role we continue to play in expanding the frontiers of AI to harness its economic and scientific benefits.”
Microsoft UK chief executive officer Clare Barclay said: “The pace of change in AI demands action today to build a prosperous future for the UK tomorrow.
“Today marks the single largest investment in our more than 40-year history in the UK.”
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