Trump leads Silicon Valley group to visit the UK: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US), OpenAI, and other American companies invest billions as a "gift".

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US), OpenAI, and other American companies announced this week their plans to invest billions of dollars in the technology infrastructure sector in the UK. The announcement of these series of business cooperation agreements coincides with the visit of U.S. President Trump to the UK this week. In a statement released on Tuesday by the UK's Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, it was stated that these technology giants will invest over 31 billion (approximately $42.3 billion) into the development of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, quantum computing projects, and various other technology sectors. Accompanying Trump's visit to the UK are several high-profile Silicon Valley figures, including NVIDIA Corporation CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. It is worth noting that OpenAI will also introduce its "Stargate" project to the UK. These measures strongly support UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's strategy to strengthen UK-US relations and drive technological development. He has pledged to accelerate the planning approval process for UK data centers and simplify the procedures for grid connection the UK currently has one of the highest electricity prices in Europe. The UK government has also stated that they will build a new "AI Growth Zone," a data center facility that the Labour Party views as a significant opportunity for job creation. UK Minister for Science, Kanishka Narayan, stated at a press conference, "The deep cooperation between the UK and the US is now unfolding. The core of this cooperation is not only focused on the historical roots of the 'special relationship' between the two countries, but also looks toward a common future." Unlike the strategies of other European countries like France to promote the development of domestic AI companies and showcase technological independence, Starmer has chosen to achieve his development goals through cooperation with Silicon Valley. OpenAI leads the "Stargate" AI infrastructure project announced by Trump in January this year, with a total budget of $500 billion. This AI company has previously stated that they will expand the "Stargate" project to other countries. In the progress of the project in the UK, OpenAI will collaborate with partners such as Nscale Global Holdings Ltd. to deploy up to around 60,000 of NVIDIA Corporation's latest Blackwell series chips. OpenAI plans to first deploy up to 8,000 of these chips in the first quarter of 2026, with the potential for future scale-up to 31,000 chips. The UK "Stargate" project will cover multiple regions, including a new "AI Growth Zone" in the northeast of England. However, Narayan did not disclose the specific amount of funding that the companies would invest in this project. Other important investment declarations include: Microsoft Corporation has agreed to invest $30 billion in the UK's AI infrastructure and existing operations over the next four years. The software giant stated that this is the largest funding commitment they have made to the UK market. As part of the collaboration, Microsoft Corporation will work with UK data center company Nscale to build a supercomputer equipped with over 23,000 advanced GPUs, which will be deployed in Nscale's AI Park near Luton, London; NVIDIA Corporation has announced its involvement in a 11 billion domestic and international AI data center construction plan, partnering with Nscale and CoreWeave to construct new facilities with the goal of deploying 120,000 AI accelerating chips in the UK by 2026. Additionally, NVIDIA Corporation chips will be used in the computer expansion projects that Nscale is advancing in the UK and other countries, with a total deployment of 300,000 chips. NVIDIA Corporation stated that this layout will make Nscale a "world-class infrastructure operator." Although NVIDIA Corporation is committed to "accelerating the development of the UK's AI industry revolution," they did not specify the amount of investment or the method of investment; CoreWeave, which provides data center computational support to companies like OpenAI, announced a 1.5 billion investment in the UK. The company is partnering with NVIDIA Corporation and Scottish data center company DataVita to deploy its technology in DataVita's self-owned facilities located in Chapelhall. This data center is powered by renewable energy, with a total computing power of 31 megawatts, and is expected to start operating officially in the first quarter of 2026. It is worth mentioning that this investment is in addition to the 1 billion that the company has already invested in London's Docklands and Crawley; Customer relationship management software provider Salesforce, Inc. announced an additional $20 billion investment in the UK by 2030. This is an extension and expansion of their five-year $40 billion investment plan announced in 2023; Earlier this week, Alphabet Inc. Class C announced a 5 billion investment in the UK over the next two years, including the construction of a new data center in Hertfordshire; BlackRock, Inc. stated that they will invest 500 million in the data center sector. The company's CEO Larry Fink also accompanied Trump on his visit to the UK this time. Currently, the UK, along with other countries globally, is committed to building local AI infrastructure, known as "sovereign AI." As the world's highest valued company, NVIDIA Corporation regards this trend as a key driver for its future growth. Despite experiencing explosive sales growth in the past two years, this California chip giant's revenue largely relies on a few large data center operators. Jensen Huang has stated that by the end of this decade, global investment in "sovereign AI" could lead to AI-related expenditures of up to $4 trillion, providing significant growth opportunities for the industry.