On Wednesday, OpenAI announced that it had plans in place to open a new office in London as it expands its operations.
The new office, which will be the company’s first international outpost, will be located in London, which happens to be home to DeepMind.
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According to CEO Sam Altman, the Microsoft-owned tech startup will focus on making advancements in “research and engineering capabilities”.
It will also collaborate with “local communities and policymakers,” said Altman, who reportedly, had dismissed France and Poland as alternatives for the office.
In his words: “We see this expansion as an opportunity to attract world-class talent and drive innovation in AGI development and policy.”
“We’re excited about what the future holds and to see the contributions our London office will make towards building and deploying safe AI.”
London appears to be a conspicuous choice for OpenAI, which since it’s creation in 2015, has not expanded beyond its headquarters in San Francisco.
The city, for a long time, has been home to DeepMind, Google’s largest AI research division, and a wellspring talents in data science.
This it owes to its rich academic history and reputable universities.
In a broader sense, London is also quicky becoming a booming City for AI startups.
A recent report shows that as of 2021, over 1,300 AI firms were based in London and the city was the top-funded in the U.K. in terms of venture dollars invested.
London is also important politically to tech companies hugely invested in AI.
OpenAI, for example, seeks to convince the governing bodies in the U.K. to regulate AI with a light touch.
On a recent tour, Altman was at the University College, London, where he called for “balanced” regulation and warned of the risks of deepfake disinformation.
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At that same appearance, the CEO added that OpenAI would “cease operating” in the European Union if it is unable to agree with the provisions of the bloc’s AI Act.
The said Act is one of the first comprehensive set of regulations made for the AI industry. He later backed away from the comments — but he had already set the ball rolling.
