{
  "id": 15847218,
  "title": "Microsoft committed to US$30bil UK investment despite data centre exit",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/microsoft-committed-to-us-30bil-uk-investment-despite-data-centre-exit",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-21T03:57:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2026/10/1560437/microsoft-committed-us30bil-uk-investment-despite-data-centre"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Microsoft has reaffirmed its commitment to a US$30 billion investment plan in the UK, despite withdrawing from an AI data centre project in Loughton, Essex. Darren Hardman, Microsoft UK and Ireland's chief executive, stated that the company is still fully committed to the investment package, noting that pulling out of the specific data centre deal is a small component of the overall investment. Microsoft's UK boss also expressed his commitment to continuing the company's relationship with Nscale, with plans to work on multiple sites outside the UK. This comes as Microsoft released new research showing a rapid growth in AI adoption by British businesses and workers over the past year, with 43.7 percent of Britons using the technology in the second quarter of 2026, compared to 36.6 percent in the same period last year.",
  "summary": "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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}