LONDON: Microsoft's UK boss has said the company is still committed to its US$30 billion investment plan despite pulling out of a project for the UK's largest artificial intelligence (AI) data centre.
It came as the technology giant released new research showing rapid growth in the adoption of AI technology by British businesses and workers over the past year, reported PA Media/dpa.
Last year, Microsoft said it would invest US$30 billion to help fund an expansion in Britain's AI infrastructure between 2025 and 2028.
Part of the investment plan included support for UK start-up Nscale's proposed data centre in Loughton, Essex.
But earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed that it had pulled out of a deal to lease computing capacity from the site following concerns that the site would not have access to the power grid until after 2030.
Darren Hardman, chief executive of Microsoft UK and Ireland, told the Press Association that the group's UK investment plan "will not change" despite the decision.
"When you look at the US$30 billion investment between 2025 and 2028, it is a small component of that," the executive said.
"We are still fully committed to that investment package."
Hardman stressed that the firm is also still "committed" to its relationship with Nscale, with plans to work with the data centre on a number of sites outside of the UK.
The boss also told PA that he has held positive discussions with Prime Minister Andy Burnham about potential opportunities linked to AI since he was appointed to the role.
Hardman pointed to Manchester as a positive example of an area of the UK where AI adoption is rapidly growing and helping to support economic growth prospects.
It came as data from the technology giant showed that AI adoption has increased further across the UK over the past year.
Around 43.7 per cent of Britons used the technology in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 36.6 per cent a year earlier.
It means the UK was eighth in the world and second in the G7 group of countries for the pace of generative AI adoption.
However, it remained firmly below the top-performing countries, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, which reported AI diffusion rates of 73.3 per cent and 64.3 per cent, respectively.
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