Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) will invest $10.5 billion in the UK over the next five years to develop cloud services.

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) cloud computing department AWS announced on Wednesday that it will invest 8 billion pounds (approximately 10.5 billion US dollars) in the UK over the next five years to develop its cloud business, for the construction, operation, and maintenance of data centers. According to AWS's estimates, by the end of 2028, this investment project will contribute 14 billion pounds to the UK's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create over 14,000 jobs. Tanuja Randery, Managing Director of AWS, stated that the company considers various factors when choosing data center locations globally, including power supply, water resources, and local environment, among others. She 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 this investment by Amazon.com, Inc. In a statement from the UK Treasury, Reeves mentioned, "This 8 billion pound investment marks the start of economic recovery, demonstrating that the UK is a place to do business." Furthermore, the UK Treasury revealed that the government is actively in discussions with AWS to explore the possibility of further investments in other areas in the UK. It is worth mentioning that this is the latest addition to a series of expansion measures by AWS in Europe. Earlier this year, AWS announced an investment of 15.7 billion euros in Spain. Additionally, AWS also announced plans to invest up to 7.8 billion euros in Germany by 2040 for the dedicated construction of 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 is driving a rebound in the 270 billion US dollar cloud infrastructure market, and many large enterprise customers are increasing their investments in cloud computing following a pause last year. Facing increasingly fierce competition from companies like Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US), AWS is seeking expansion globally.