AWS is injecting $10.5 billion over the next five years into the U.K. to expand its data centers in the region with the goal of enabling AI solutions for British businesses.
Amazon Web Services continues to spread its massive cloud infrastructure footprint across the globe by unveiling a $10.5 billion investment in its U.K. data centers with big AI plans in store for the region.
The $105 billion Seatle-based cloud computing giant said Wednesday that the new investment is critical to U.K.’s economic future in the AI era.
“We’re proud to announce our plans to invest £8 billion ($10.5 billion) in digital and AI infrastructure over the next five years to help meet the growing needs of our customers and partners and support the transformation of the U.K.’s digital economy,” said AWS’ Tanuja Randery, vice president and managing director of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), in a statement.
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AWS invests tens of billions of dollars each year to expand its data center footprint to enter new markets or boost capabilities in existing regions. AWS data centers house thousands of servers, storage, networking, data protection and power infrastructure that enable its cloud services and AI solutions.
“The next few years could be among the most pivotal for the U.K.’s digital and economic future, as organizations of all sizes across the country increasingly embrace technologies like cloud computing and AI to help them accelerate innovation, increase productivity and compete on the global stage,” said Randery.
Parent company Amazon employs around 75,000 people in the U.K., which includes data center teams and AWS staff.
AWS estimated that its new investment will contribute approximately $18.3 billion to the U.K.’s total GDP between 2024 and 2028.
AWS Investment ‘Marks The Start Of The Economic Revival’ In The U.K.
AWS launched its first AWS Region in the U.K. in late 2016.
Over the past several years, the company continued to expand its U.K. Region to include three Availability Zones, two WaveLength Zones, two Edge Locations and a Regional Edge Cache.
AWS has invested around $4 billion in the U.K. since 2020, making its total investment in the region now more than $14.5 billion in the past four years.
British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, who is the government’s chief financial minister, said in a statement that the $10.5 billion investment from AWS “marks the start of the economic revival and shows Britain is a place to do business.”
Some of the company’s largest customers in Britain includes AstraZeneca, Cancer Research UK, Deliveroo, easyJet, Genomics England, Monzo, NatWest Group, UK Biobank and Zilch.
AWS Earnings Results
For the company’s most recent second-quarter 2024 financial earnings, AWS generated $26.3 billion in sales.
This 19 percent year-over-year sales increase boosted AWS’ annual run rate to a record $105.2 billion. AWS’ operating income during the second quarter was $9.3 billion.
AWS is the world’s largest cloud company, owning 32 percent share of the cloud infrastructure services market, followed by Microsoft at 23 percent share and Google Cloud at 12 percent share.