OpenAI picks London for first corporate office outside US
The move aligns with Rishi Sunak's efforts to position Britain as a leading global hub for AI development
In a significant boost to Rishi Sunak's vision of establishing Britain as a prominent AI hub, the creator of ChatGPT has selected London as the location for its first corporate office outside the United States.
Since the launch of ChatGPT last November, San Francisco-based OpenAI has emerged as the leading AI firm globally.
The company has received multibillion-dollar backing from Microsoft, and has successfully raised over $10 billion in funding to date, according to Bloomberg.
During a recent European tour, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, visited the UK and expressed his intention to establish an international office. Citing London's vibrant tech ecosystem and the availability of exceptional talent, OpenAI has identified the city as the perfect choice for its first international office.
The company says the London office will primarily focus on research and engineering activities.
"We are thrilled to extend our research and development footprint into London, a city globally renowned for its rich culture and exceptional talent pool," Diane Yoon, OpenAI's VP of People, commented.
While the specific timeline for the opening of the office and the exact number of employees were not disclosed by the company, OpenAI has already begun advertising job positions.
Among the advertised roles are a security engineer and a head of UK policy, indicating the initial focus areas for recruitment. The company has appointed Sandro Gianella, previously associated with payments giant Stripe, to spearhead policy initiatives across Europe.
OpenAI has emphasised that the establishment of its UK office will play a crucial role in advancing its mission to develop "safe AGI" (Artificial General Intelligence).
AGI is widely recognised as the ultimate objective in the field of AI, as it would enable machines to possess independent thinking capabilities beyond executing narrow, predefined tasks.
"We see this expansion as an opportunity to attract world-class talent and drive innovation in AGI development and policy," said Altman in a blog post.
"We're excited about what the future holds, and to see the contributions our London office will make towards building and deploying safe AI."
Chloe Smith, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, expressed her enthusiasm regarding the OpenAI announcement, considering it an affirmation of Britain's status as an AI powerhouse.
In recent statements, Rishi Sunak has expressed his ambition for the UK to capitalise on the flourishing growth of AI development.
"If our goal is to make this country the best place in the world for tech, AI is surely one of the greatest opportunities before us," Sunak said.
Lawsuit filed
It's not all good news for OpenAI. News has emerged of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed against the company in a California federal court this week.
Clarkson, a California-based law firm, filed the lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging extensive infringement of copyright and privacy violations. The firm claims that OpenAI unlawfully employed data gathered through web scraping to train its technology, potentially compromising the rights and privacy of numerous individuals.
According to the lawsuit, OpenAI stands accused of "seizing" a vast amount of data exchanged on the internet, without providing prior notice, obtaining consent, or offering appropriate compensation.
Microsoft has also been named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
To date, neither Microsoft nor OpenAI have issued any public statements regarding the lawsuit filed against them.