Vantage Data Centres, currently building one of Europe’s largest data centre campuses in Wales, will invest more than £12 billion, creating more than 11,500 jobs.
Kyndryl, a major IT infrastructure services provider, plans to create up to 1,000 AI-related jobs in Liverpool over the next three years.
And leading UK AI company, Nscale, has announced a £2.5 billion investment in UK data centre infrastructure, also over the next three years.
Nscale has also signed a contract to build the largest UK sovereign AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, by 2026.
It is estimated these announcements could deliver 13,250 jobs in total across the country.
The prime minister is backing the investors, by agreeing to all 50 recommendations set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan by entrepreneur Matt Clifford.
The plan includes new “AI Growth Zones” to speed up planning proposals and build more AI infrastructure. The first of these will be in Culham, Oxfordshire.
More will be announced in the summer, with a particular focus on de-industrialised areas of the country.
It builds on £25 billion of new investment in data centres announced since the government took office last July.
“This is a plan which puts us all-in, backing the potential of AI to grow our economy, improve lives for citizens, and make us a global hub for AI investment and innovation,” said Clifford.
“AI offers opportunities we can’t let slip through our fingers, and these steps put us on the strongest possible footing to ensure AI delivers in all corners of the country, from building skills and talent to revolutionising our infrastructure and compute power.”
Chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said: “This action plan is the government’s modern industrial strategy in action.
“Attracting AI businesses to the UK, bringing in new investment, creating new jobs and turbocharging our Plan for Change.
“This means better living standards in every part of the United Kingdom and working people have more money in their pocket.”
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