Google Group invests 1 billion USD to build data center in UK

On January 18, Google announced that it will invest $1 billion to build a data center on the outskirts of London, the UK. This is Google's latest investment in the UK in an effort to meet the growing demand for Internet services in the region.

The data center, located on a 13-hectare site acquired by Google in 2020, is in the town of Waltham Cross, about 24km north of central London.

Google's Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said the new data centre would help meet growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) services, provide critical computing capacity to businesses across the UK, and help Google create jobs in the construction and engineering sectors.

According to Google, the waste heat from this data center will be an opportunity for energy conservation, which can benefit the local community.

The UK government - which is pushing businesses to invest in new infrastructure, particularly in the technology and artificial intelligence industries - welcomed Google's investment as a "major vote of confidence" in the country.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "Google's $1 billion investment demonstrates that the UK is a centre of technological excellence and has huge potential for growth."

Google currently has more than 7,000 employees in the UK. In 2022, the technology group announced that it had purchased the entire Central Saint Giles building in central London (UK) for $1 billion.

The move to change the position from "tenant of office space" to "owner" of the Central Saint Giles building is assessed by experts as demonstrating the determination and confidence in the future development direction of this technology company.

In addition, the group also acquired another plot of land in King's Cross, where Google plans to build a new office and which is also the headquarters of AI company DeepMind.