General view of the Google headquarters in King’s Cross because the tech giant faces a 5 billion pound lawsuit within the UK for allegedly abusing its online search dominance.
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Google owner Alphabet on Tuesday announced a £5 billion ($6.8 billion) investment within the U.K.’s artificial intelligence development, just because the country prepares for U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit this week.
The U.S. president is scheduled to reach in Britain on Tuesday evening, before the pomp and pageantry gets underway on Wednesday. His visit is anticipated to coincide with a flurry of business deals.
Google’s two-year investment will represent a great addition for Britain’s embattled Labour government.
As a part of the pledge, the U.S. tech giant announced the opening of a brand new state-of-the-art data center in Waltham Cross, roughly 12 miles (19 kilometers) north of central London.
Google said the brand new facility will help meet the growing demand for the corporate’s AI-powered services like Google Cloud, Workspace, Search and Maps.
The £5 billion investment is projected to create 8,250 jobs annually at U.K. businesses, Google said.
U.K. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves described Google’s announcement as “a strong vote of confidence within the UK economy and the strength of our partnership with the US.”
Google’s U.K. investment includes funding for London-based DeepMind, an organization run by Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis which is working to construct the subsequent generation of AI systems.
“With today’s announcement, Google is deepening our roots within the UK and helping support Great Britain’s potential with AI so as to add £400 billion to the economy by 2030 while also enhancing critical social services,” Ruth Porat, president and chief investment officer of Alphabet and Google, said in an announcement.
Google on Tuesday also said it had signed a deal for British oil giant Shell to administer the tech giant’s U.K. renewable energy supply. Google said the alliance will help contribute to grid stability and the country’s energy transition.
“Shell’s diverse portfolio of renewable power supply, access to batteries and electricity trading and optimisation expertise enables us to fulfill the evolving needs of world-leading firms like Google and support the expansion of information centres,” Shell Executive Vice President David Wells said.
