OpenAI to move to first permanent London office, with capacity to more than double headcount

OpenAI says it’s moving into its first permanent London office, which has the capacity to more than double its current 200-strong headcount, days after pausing its flagship data centre project in the UK.

The ChatGPT developer is moving into an 88,500-square-foot space in London’s King’s Cross, which is a key tech hub in the capital. It says the move is an indicator of the UK demand for its products, which includes flagship product ChatGPT and coding agent Codex.

The US AI firm currently employs around 200 people in London across research, engineering, customer support, enterprise, startups, policy, communications, marketing and sales.

It says it expects to continue growing its team across these areas in the coming years.

The San Francisco-headquartered OpenAI says its new office will have capacity for up to 544 team members and is expected to open in 2027.

OpenAI, whose European headquarters are in Dublin, has already committed to making London its largest research hub outside of its San Francisco headquarters.

It currently employs around 30 researchers in the capital.

Phoebe Thacker, global head of data research programmes and London site lead at OpenAI, said: “The UK has an incredible depth of talent and a strong track record in AI. London is already a key hub for our research and teams, and this new office gives us the space to keep building here.

"We’re seeing real momentum in how businesses, developers and institutions across the UK are using AI, and we want to support that growth. 

“This investment reflects our long-term commitment to the UK and the role it can play in shaping how AI is developed safely and used to benefit people all over the world.”

King’s Cross is seen as a key tech hub in the capital and is home to tech giants like Meta and Google.

Last week, OpenAI said plans to bring its flagship $500bn AI data centre project to the UK have been put on hold, with the ChatGPT developer citing energy costs and regulatory issues as factors which have halted its plans.