Google says to invest £5bn in UK ahead of Trump visit

London: Google said Tuesday it was investing 5 billion ($6.8 billion) in the UK over the next two years to help power the country s AI drive, ahead o...

London: Google said Tuesday it was investing £5 billion ($6.8 billion) in the UK over the next two years to help power the country's AI drive, ahead of a visit by US President Donald Trump.

The funds would go towards the company's "capital expenditure, research and development ... and encompasses Google DeepMind with its pioneering AI research in science and healthcare," Google said in a statement.

Google was Tuesday to open a data centre in Waltham Cross, eastern Hertfordshire, which it announced last year with a $1 billion investment. Tuesday's announcement would be on top of the monies already pledged, a Google spokesperson told AFP.

Trump was due to land in Britain later Tuesday for an historic second state visit that will see the UK government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer spare no effort in trying to flatter the mercurial American president.

Trump will be accompanied by a "significant" number of US tech CEOs when he meets with Starmer at his country residence on Thursday, a senior US official said.