LONDON: President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK has already delivered pledges from US tech giants to invest a combined $42 billion to help drive Britain’s AI sector.
The UK and US governments meanwhile agreed co-operation over nuclear and space technology as part of a “Tech Prosperity Deal.”
Below is a list of the main deals, led by Microsoft, outlined in a joint statement issued by the UK government and companies.
Microsoft
The company’s “largest ever commitment to the UK” comprises a $30-billion investment over four years, half of which will be spent on cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
It includes plans to build Britain’s largest supercomputer.
“We’re committed to creating new opportunity for people and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, and to ensuring America remains a trusted and reliable tech partner for the United Kingdom,” said Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.
“That is why we are doubling down on our investment in the UK.”
Google
The search engine giant plans UK investment of £5 billion ($6.8 billion) over the next two years to power its AI drive, help “fortify cybersecurity” and create 8,250 jobs annually.
Nvidia, Stargate UK
British firm Nscale has partnered with Chat-GPT maker OpenAI and chip giant Nvidia to establish a UK version of Stargate — a large-scale AI infrastructure initiative.
The government said the project is aimed at “developing a platform designed to deploy OpenAI’s technology on sovereign infrastructure in the UK.”
Working alongside UK firms, Nvidia pledged to deploy a total 120,000 advanced GPU chips across the country, representing its biggest ever rollout in Europe.
Finance firms
Bank of America, BlackRock, Citi Group, PayPal and S&P Global are together investing around £1.75 billion to grow their UK operations.
Nuclear
Britain and the United States plan to speed up development of new nuclear power projects.
“This golden age of nuclear is central to the government’s mission to build more clean homegrown power to ensure energy security,” the UK government said.
Government partnerships
The two countries plan to “drive AI-powered health care solutions in areas such as precision medicine and chronic disease.”
The UK and US also plan to partner over “revolutionary quantum computers and speed up the deployment of this technology across areas like health care, defense and finance.”
NASA and the UK Space Agency intend to develop AI models to support science and exploration missions.
US tech deals alongside Trump’s UK visit
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US tech deals alongside Trump’s UK visit
- UK and US governments also agreed co-operation over nuclear and space technology as part of a ‘Tech Prosperity Deal’
France, Germany, Spain to resume delayed fighter talks, sources say
- A ministerial meeting is planned for the week of November 24
BERLIN/PARIS: France, Germany and Spain are set to resume high-level talks on the next phase of a major fighter project after delays caused by the recent political crisis in France, three people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
A ministerial meeting is planned for the week of November 24 as the three nations try to bridge differences over the next phase of the Future Combat Air System, which calls for a flying demonstrator model, two of the people said.
A third source said a meeting was planned but that its date had not yet been announced.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is separately due to meet his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, in Paris next Monday, two of the sources said.
No comment was immediately available from the three defense ministries involved in the 100-billion-euro project to develop a system of crewed stealth fighters and packs of armed drones.
Pistorius told reporters last week that no new date for a trilateral ministerial meeting had been set, but he reiterated Germany’s call for a decision on the next phase by end-year.
Berlin has blamed French industry for blocking the program’s next phase by demanding sole leadership of the project, in a coded reference to Dassault Aviation.
Dassault, which handles France’s industrial participation in the project while Airbus represents Germany and Spain, has denied reports that it wants to control 80 percent of the project.
Pistorius said last week that he had discussed the topic with France’s Vautrin, who had stated her intention to continue with the project, which is widely known as FCAS, or its French acronym, SCAF.
Speaking ahead of a recent meeting with Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles, Vautrin said there was urgency to move ahead because France’s current Rafale warplanes would need to be replaced by 2040.
