Amazon will invest $10.5 billion in the UK over the next five years to develop its cloud business
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced plans to invest £8 billion (approximately $10.5 billion) in the UK over the next five years to develop cloud business, build and maintain data centers. By the end of 2028, this project is expected to contribute £14 billion to the UK's GDP and create over 14,000 jobs. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, welcomed the investment, stating that it marks the beginning of economic recovery. AWS is also expanding in Europe, with investments in Spain and Germany
According to the financial news app Zhitong Finance, Amazon's (AMZN.US) cloud computing division AWS announced on Wednesday that it will invest £8 billion (approximately $10.5 billion) in the UK over the next five years to develop its cloud business, focusing on building, operating, and maintaining data centers. AWS estimates that by the end of 2028, this investment project will contribute £14 billion to the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create over 14,000 job opportunities.
Tanuja Randery, Managing Director of AWS, stated that when selecting data center locations globally, the company considers various factors such as power supply, water resources, and local environment. She particularly emphasized that the use of artificial intelligence is one of the key factors driving the growth in demand for cloud services.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves welcomed Amazon's investment. In a statement from the UK Treasury, Reeves said, "This £8 billion investment marks the beginning of economic recovery, demonstrating that the UK is a great place to do business." Additionally, the UK Treasury revealed that the government is actively engaging with AWS to explore the possibility of further investments in other regions of the UK.
It is worth noting that this is the latest addition to AWS's series of expansion initiatives in Europe. Earlier this year, AWS announced an investment of €15.7 billion in Spain. Furthermore, AWS also announced plans to invest up to €7.8 billion in Germany by 2040 to specifically build cloud computing infrastructure in Europe. Apart from Europe, AWS has also announced similar long-term projects in Mexico, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore this year.
Industry analysts and corporate executives pointed out that the growing interest in artificial intelligence has driven a rebound in the $270 billion cloud infrastructure market, with many large enterprise customers increasing their investments in cloud computing again after pausing last year. Facing increasingly fierce competition from companies like Microsoft (MSFT.US), AWS is seeking global expansion opportunities