US firms CyrusOne, ServiceNow, Cloud HQ and CoreWeave have unveiled plans to invest £6.3bn in new data centre infrastructure projects in the UK.
The plans, which were announced at the government’s International Investment Summit held yesterday, were described as a “vote of confidence” in Britain by secretary of state for science, innovation and technology Peter Kyle.
Washington DC-headquartered firm CloudHQ intends to develop a new £1.9bn data centre campus in Didcot, Oxfordshire; global AI platform and software provider ServiceNow plans to invest £1.15bn into its UK business over the next five years; data centre developer CyrusOne will expand its investment into the UK to £2.5bn over the coming years; and AI hyperscaler has confirmed investment of £750m to support the next generation of AI cloud infrastructure.
Kyle said: “Tech leaders from all over the world are seeing Britain as the best place to invest with a thriving and stable market for data centres and AI development. Data centres power our day-to-day lives and boost innovation in growing sectors like AI.
“This is why only last month, I took steps to class UK data centres as Critical National Infrastructure giving the industry the ultimate reassurance the UK will always be a safe home for their investment. Today’s drumbeat of investment is a vote of confidence in Britain and our approach to work with business to deliver sustained growth for all.”
Hossein Fateh, founder and chief executive officer of CloudHQ, added: “We are very excited to deliver a hyper-scale campus in the UK that is truly an extension of Slough due to our private diverse fibre optic route. Our site enables us to build out our campus environment to provide scale and density to meet our customers’ requirements.”
Bill McDermott, chairman and CEO of ServiceNow, said: “Working together, ServiceNow and HM government are on the brink of a great unlock, putting AI to work for people across the country. AI-powered transformation is a generational opportunity to champion citizens, empower employees, and delight customers. ServiceNow’s investment will accelerate the UK’s innovation blueprint, redefining how people live and work.”
Eric Schwartz, president and chief executive officer at CyrusOne, added: “The UK government’s recent ‘critical national infrastructure’ (CNI) designation was a strong signal that data centres are of strategic importance to the UK economy. It has provided CyrusOne with the confidence to continue its expansion in the UK and support the government’s policy ambition to become a centre of excellence for digital services, technology innovation and AI.”
Mike Intrator, CEO and co-founder of CoreWeave, said: “CoreWeave’s multiple investments in 2024 are a mark of our confidence in the government’s commitment to attracting global private investment through the creation of a stable, business-friendly environment. We are encouraged by the UK’s strong talent pool, which is reflected in our decision earlier this year to open our European headquarters in London, and priority focus on investing in critical infrastructure, to drive the continued development of the UK’s thriving AI sector.”
