Google said Tuesday it was investing £5 billion ($6.8 billion) in the UK over the next two years to help power the country’s AI drive, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump.
The funds would go towards the company’s “capital expenditure, research and development … and encompasses Google DeepMind with its pioneering AI research in science and healthcare,” Google said in a statement.
Google was Tuesday to open a data centre in Waltham Cross, eastern Hertfordshire, which it announced last year with a $1 billion investment. Tuesday’s announcement would be on top of the monies already pledged, a Google spokesperson told AFP.
Trump was due to land in Britain later Tuesday for a historic second state visit that will see the UK government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer spare no effort in trying to flatter the mercurial American president.