General view of the Google headquarters in King’s Cross as the tech giant faces a 5 billion pound lawsuit in the UK for allegedly abusing its online search dominance.
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Google owner Alphabet on Tuesday announced a £5 billion ($6.8 billion) investment in the U.K.’s artificial intelligence development, just as the country prepares for U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit this week.
The U.S. president is scheduled to arrive in Britain on Tuesday evening, before the pomp and pageantry gets underway on Wednesday. His visit is expected to coincide with a flurry of business deals.
Google’s two-year investment will represent a welcome boost for Britain’s embattled Labour government.
As part of the pledge, the U.S. tech giant announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art data center in Waltham Cross, approximately 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of central London.
Google said the new facility will help meet the growing demand for the company’s AI-powered services like Google Cloud, Workspace, Search and Maps.
The £5 billion investment is projected to create 8,250 jobs annually at U.K. businesses, Google said.
U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves described Google’s announcement as “a powerful vote of confidence in the UK economy and the strength of our partnership with the US.”
Google’s U.K. investment includes funding for London-based DeepMind, a company run by Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis which is working to build the next generation of AI systems.
“With today’s announcement, Google is deepening our roots in the UK and helping support Great Britain’s potential with AI to add £400 billion to the economy by 2030 while also enhancing critical social services,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said in a statement.
Google on Tuesday also said it had signed a deal for British oil giant Shell to manage the tech giant’s U.K. renewable energy supply. Google said the alliance will help contribute to grid stability and the country’s energy transition.
“Shell’s diverse portfolio of renewable power supply, access to batteries and electricity trading and optimisation expertise enables us to meet the evolving needs of world-leading companies like Google and support the growth of data centres,” Shell Executive Vice President David Wells said.
