UK open for tech business, as Google underscores market's attractiveness with £5bn investment

16 September 2025

If you are covering the UK AI investment announced by Google, along with further similar announcements expected this week, please find below a comment from Ben Barringer, global head of technology research at Quilter Cheviot:

"Today's announcement by Google that it is to invest £5bn in its artificial intelligence capabilities in the UK is undoubtedly positive news for the government on the eve of Donald Trump's state visit. Given 2025 has been dominated by tech giants trumpeting their investment in the US, it is pleasing to see the UK remains a natural home for diversifying investments and this deal underscores many reasons why Google has chosen the UK. The UK has a strong internet penetration rate as well as established ecommerce markets, so any investment in AI in the UK is somewhat of a sensible option for these tech companies.

"It is worth noting that this is a small investment in the context of Google's $85bn capex spend, but nevertheless, it is a good test bed given the AI expertise in the country and it will be interesting to see where the investment is deployed and how it is used, particularly given the advancements to date of DeepMind. Clearly having established businesses in the tech market, like DeepMind, matters greatly.

"This is the beginning of a run of announcements from US tech giants during the state visit, and it is good to see the UK is being prioritised. Clearly Donald Trump has a close affinity for the UK, and it is right for the government to leverage this to produce such investment, particularly given the UK's scale in the tech landscape. While it can never rival the likes of the US and China, it needs to leverage that AI expertise to gain a foothold as the next best market for these tech titans.

"All of this sort of investment, while small in the grand scheme of things, is incremental and does add up. London remains part of the European tech hub alongside Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Frankfurt, but it cannot rest on its laurels as a global financial centre. More tech investment like this should be lauded and welcomed, highlighting that the UK is open for business despite its recent challenges."