Microsoft has announced that it is opening a new location in London for artificial intelligence research. This follows the company’s announcement that it has created a new division within the company called Microsoft AI that is focused on building out its commercial AI offerings, such as Copilot.
The new location will focus on innovating on large language models and the infrastructure needed to run them, building tools for the underlying models, and collaborating internally with external partners like OpenAI.
Microsoft AI London will be led by Jordan Hoffman, who was previously a researcher at DeepMind and Inflection.
By establishing a base in London, the company hopes to attract more UK talent to work on AI at Microsoft. They will begin posting job listings over the next few weeks.
“This is great news for Microsoft AI and for the UK,” Mustafa Suleyman, EVP and CEO of Microsoft AI, wrote in press release. “As a British citizen, born and raised in London, I am proud to have co-founded and built a leading AI business here. I am deeply aware of the extraordinary talent pool and AI ecosystem in the UK and I am excited to commit to the UK on behalf of Microsoft AI. I know – through working closely with thought leaders in UK government, business and academia – that the country is committed to advancing AI responsibly and with a commitment to safety first to drive investment, innovation and economic growth. Our decision to open this hub in the UK reflects that ambition.”