Is Thames Valley ready for the future of AI?

Earlier this month, Donald Trump and Sir Kiel Starmer announced a deal that said they would bring £150 billion investment into the country and bill it as a new technology prosperity deal.

Much of the money goes to the Artificial Intelligence (AI), Computing and Data Center sectors and areas, which Thames Valley specializes in.

Slough alone has over 30 data centers.

It's too early to say how much of this £150 billion tech deal fund will go down the Thames Valley path, but experts say the area should be in front of the queue when it's paid.

Data centers are at the heart of modern life.

Andrew Pilsworth is the managing director of Segro's data centers and strategic partnerships, which operates Europe's largest Slough Trading Estate.

“That growth is great for the Slough community as a whole. Data centers create job opportunities during construction and then create both very high-quality, high-value jobs for people like mechanical engineers and software engineers.”

It will take months, if not years, before you know exactly where the £150 billion investment the UK government says is protected from the US.

But one thing we know is that the biggest single investment comes from Microsoft, which has its UK headquarters in reading. We have announced a £22 billion spending package.

The CEO of Satya Nadella says he hopes that investment in AI will drive growth and productivity in the UK. “We have been in the UK since 1982. It's been over 40 years now and we've consistently invested in the UK over these decades, bringing the best technology here and welcoming customers all over the UK.”

The Thames Valley is undoubtedly a major attraction for companies in sectors such as AI and computing.

Economic data company The Data City says that while only 1.6% of all UK companies live in the area, 4% of companies specializing in artificial intelligence are calling homes in the Thames Valley.

Chief economist Paul Swinney said: “If you are a cutting-edge company, you need workers, highly skilled workers and get them in the spades of the area.

He says the rapidly developing world of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies has not come without its challenges, and the region and its workforce need to be agile.

“What's important for places like reading and the wider Thames Valley after 10 years of knowing what it is is how to make things that are always appealing to those new industries when they come.”