Britain and the United States on Wednesday agreed to a technology pact to strengthen cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and civil nuclear energy, with leading U.S. firms, led by Microsoft, pledging £31 billion ($42 billion) in UK investments.
The “Tech Prosperity Deal” was unveiled during U.S. President Donald Trump’s second state visit to Britain, which included a day of ceremonial pomp at Windsor Castle hosted by King Charles and the royal family.
The pact commits both countries to joint development of AI models for healthcare, expansion of quantum computing capabilities, and the streamlining of civil nuclear projects. Officials said it would support economic growth, scientific research and energy security on both sides of the Atlantic.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the deal could shape the future of millions and deliver growth and security. Under pressure to revive years of weak economic growth, Starmer is seeking to position Britain as a hub for further investment by embracing the light-touch regulation favoured by the U.S. in areas such as AI, contrasting with the EU’s more interventionist approach.
Trump’s administration has criticised European online safety laws and digital taxes, including those in Britain, but these were not part of the discussions over the pact.
U.S. tech firms also announced major UK investments. Chipmaker Nvidia said it would deploy 120,000 graphics processing units in Britain, its largest rollout in Europe to date, including up to 60,000 Grace Blackwell Ultra chips with UK-based Nscale to support OpenAI in a UK leg of the company’s Star Gate project and a Microsoft supercomputer.
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Microsoft pledged £22 billion to expand cloud and AI infrastructure and fund the supercomputer in Loughton, north-east London. Its chair and CEO, Satya Nadella, said the company aimed to remain a “trusted and reliable tech partner for Britain.” Microsoft president Brad Smith added that relations had improved since the UK’s antitrust regulator dropped opposition to its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, saying he felt “enormously better.”
David Hogan, vice president for enterprise at Nvidia, said the investments would “truly make the UK an AI maker, not an AI taker.” Google announced a £5 billion investment, including a new data centre in Waltham Cross, north of London, and continued support for AI research through DeepMind.
Cloud computing firm CoreWeave said its £1.5 billion backing would fund energy-efficient data centres in partnership with Scottish firm DataVita, bringing its total UK investment to £2.5 billion. Other firms pledging significant investments include Salesforce, Scale AI, BlackRock, Oracle, Amazon Web Services, and AI Pathfinder, with contributions ranging from hundreds of millions to several billion pounds.
