Amazon Web Services to Invest £8 Billion in the UK over the Next 5 Years

• Amazon Web Services has decided to invest 8 billion in the UK in building and maintaining data centers.
• This deal will be a blessing for the UK's struggling economy, as it expects to add at least 14 billion to its GDP and 14,000 jobs by the end of 2028.

Amazon Web Services has decided to invest 8 billion in the UK over the next five years to build, manage, and operate data centers.

We're proud to announce our plans to invest 8 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 UK's digital economy." - Tanuja Randery, AWS VP and MD for EMEA

According to the company's calculations, this move will add at least 14 billion to the UK's GDP and support 14,000 jobs (in supply chain, telecom, engineering, and construction) by the end of 2028.

Now, it's important to note that investing in the UK wasn't an afterthought, and it's certainly not charity; Amazon certainly has its own motive behind it.

For starters, last December, AWS won a contract for cloud hosting services for the UK Home Office, which is worth nearly half a billion pounds (450,281,369 or about $590 million).

The company's revenue also increased significantly. Overall, it grew by 30.1%, amounting to 3.78 billion ($4.9 billion) last year. In the direct public sector alone, there was a 76% increase in the year before.

What Does the UK Have to Say About This?

The news was well received by UK authorities. UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said that this investment shows that the country is ready to handle business.

Being transparent with the citizens, she also added that the dire state of the country's economy is no secret. Although her government is trying its best, she can't undo all the damage that happened over the last 14 years (under the previous government) in just two quarters. However, they'll do everything in their power to make things better.

This is also why this deal couldn't have come at a better time for the UK, as it'll greatly help in reviving the country's economy. She plans to make use of every penny this deal brings in to create more jobs and investment opportunities.

Interestingly, though, while the UK is celebrating its deal with AWS, the company is undergoing an investigation by the UK's competition watchdog on charges of using anti-competitive practices to limit user choice.

Read more: UK antitrust regulators start probe into Amazon's partnership with Anthropic

Even more ironic is the fact that the Competition and Markets Authority itself has decided to double the amount it spends on AWS over the next 3 years. So, it's hard to gauge the government's stance on this matter.

Anyway, needless to say, AWS's investment plans were not welcomed by its competitors, especially Mark Boost, CEO of UK cloud operator Civo. He said that UK businesses and innovators deserve an equal chance of contributing to the UK's digital growth. However, with AWS here, that seems like an impossible feat.

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