Amazon Web Services (AWS) has unveiled a strategic plan to invest £8 billion ($10.48 billion) in the UK between 2024 and 2028 to expand its data centre operations. This substantial investment is expected to strengthen the UK’s digital infrastructure, contributing an estimated £14 billion to the country’s GDP. It will also support the creation of more than 14,000 full-time equivalent jobs annually, covering key sectors such as construction, engineering, telecommunications, and facility maintenance, all vital to the AWS supply chain.
Since establishing its first AWS region in the UK in 2016, AWS has expanded its presence, including the addition of three Availability Zones, two WaveLength Zones, two Edge Locations, and a Regional Edge Cache. From 2020 to 2023, AWS invested over £3 billion, supporting more than 6,000 full-time jobs annually. This new investment will push AWS’s total UK investments to over £11 billion by 2028.
AWS Vice President Tanuja Randery highlighted the pivotal role cloud computing and AI will play in shaping the UK’s digital and economic future. As companies increasingly adopt these technologies, AWS’s investment will provide the infrastructure needed to support innovation and competitiveness on the global stage.
This announcement aligns with growing global demand for data centres driven by the rise of AI and advanced computing needs. Tech giants like Microsoft and Google are also ramping up their UK investments, with Microsoft pledging £2.5 billion towards AI infrastructure and Google investing $1 billion in a 33-acre data centre to advance AI model development.
AWS’s strategic investment positions it as a critical player in the digital transformation of the UK’s economy, while its competition with other major tech companies signals the importance of AI and cloud technologies in shaping future economic growth.
Since establishing its first AWS region in the UK in 2016, AWS has expanded its presence, including the addition of three Availability Zones, two WaveLength Zones, two Edge Locations, and a Regional Edge Cache. From 2020 to 2023, AWS invested over £3 billion, supporting more than 6,000 full-time jobs annually. This new investment will push AWS’s total UK investments to over £11 billion by 2028.
AWS Vice President Tanuja Randery highlighted the pivotal role cloud computing and AI will play in shaping the UK’s digital and economic future. As companies increasingly adopt these technologies, AWS’s investment will provide the infrastructure needed to support innovation and competitiveness on the global stage.
This announcement aligns with growing global demand for data centres driven by the rise of AI and advanced computing needs. Tech giants like Microsoft and Google are also ramping up their UK investments, with Microsoft pledging £2.5 billion towards AI infrastructure and Google investing $1 billion in a 33-acre data centre to advance AI model development.
AWS’s strategic investment positions it as a critical player in the digital transformation of the UK’s economy, while its competition with other major tech companies signals the importance of AI and cloud technologies in shaping future economic growth.