OpenAI has secured its first permanent London office, a King’s Cross site planned to open in 2027 with capacity for 544 team members. The company says London is intended to become its largest research hub outside the United States. This is a significant expansion of an existing UK operation—not OpenAI’s first London office—and it comes as the company has paused a major UK data-centre project.
What OpenAI announced
On April 13, 2026, OpenAI announced that it had secured space across Jahn Court and the Brassworks Building at Regent Quarter in King’s Cross. The office is expected to open in 2027; no specific month or completion date has been announced. Reuters reporting carried by RTÉ says the site has capacity for 544 team members, while OpenAI described London as its planned largest research hub outside the US. These are plans and capacity figures, not a confirmed opening or a guarantee that every workspace will be occupied. Reuters reporting reproduced by RTÉ
Property-industry publication CoStar puts the leased footprint at about 88,500 square feet. That is a reported property figure, rather than a size confirmed in the cited OpenAI announcement. CoStar’s report on the London lease
Why “first permanent office” does not mean first London presence
OpenAI announced its first international office in London on June 28, 2023. The 2026 announcement is about securing a permanent, larger base for a team already working in the city. OpenAI’s 2023 description said London functions would include research, engineering, go-to-market work, AI safety and policy-related activity, and engagement with local communities and policymakers. OpenAI’s 2023 London office announcement
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Reuters reporting put the London workforce at about 200 when the permanent site was announced. OpenAI had said in July 2025 that its UK team numbered more than 100. Those figures are approximate and from different dates; they should not be treated as an audited, like-for-like headcount series. OpenAI’s account of its UK partnership and team
What the London hub is expected to do
OpenAI’s stated London plans span research and engineering as well as commercial and public-facing work. Its earlier account of the office included support for customers, policy engagement and collaboration with local communities. In 2025, the company described its UK operation as contributing to frontier-model development while supporting UK businesses, developers and start-ups.
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That evidence supports a broad research, engineering, policy and go-to-market hub. It does not establish that OpenAI will move its US headquarters or all model training and core product development to London.
Why OpenAI is expanding in London
OpenAI has pointed to London’s technology and research talent, its established technology ecosystem and the opportunity to work closer to UK businesses, developers and start-ups. A larger local operation can give the company more capacity for research and engineering while supporting commercial relationships and policy work. Its ambition to make London its largest research hub outside the US is OpenAI’s stated plan, not an independently measured ranking of research centres.
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How the move relates to the UK government partnership
In July 2025, OpenAI and the UK government announced a strategic partnership covering potential AI adoption in government and business, cooperation with the UK AI Security Institute, possible public-service applications and discussions about infrastructure, AI Growth Zones and sovereign compute. The government said the agreement was a voluntary, non-legally binding memorandum of understanding. It does not guarantee government contracts, procurement decisions or public spending for OpenAI. UK government announcement of the partnership
The office expansion and the Stargate UK pause are separate signals
The London office plan is a commitment to a larger people-and-workplace footprint. Separately, Reuters-linked reporting said OpenAI had paused its principal UK data-centre project, citing regulatory conditions and high energy costs. An office lease and a data-centre project face different constraints: the latter depends on factors such as power costs, grid access, land and regulatory approvals. The London expansion therefore does not show that the data-centre plan is proceeding, while the pause does not by itself establish that OpenAI is withdrawing its UK research and commercial operation. Reuters reporting reproduced by RTÉ
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What it could mean for UK jobs and businesses
The new capacity could support recruitment across research, engineering, sales, customer support and policy, and may increase competition for specialist AI talent. But 544 is the planned office capacity, not a published hiring target. OpenAI has not provided a verified breakdown of new roles, salaries or a hiring timetable in the cited material, so it would be misleading to translate the capacity into a promise of 544 new jobs—or 344 additional jobs relative to the reported workforce of about 200.
For UK businesses, developers and start-ups, a larger local team could mean more capacity for commercial engagement and implementation conversations. The announcement does not promise lower prices, preferential access to models, special UK data-residency terms or guaranteed customer support. Those depend on product documentation and individual contracts, not the location of an office.
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What remains unconfirmed
- The exact opening date within 2027.
- The final number of OpenAI staff based at the site and how quickly the team will grow.
- How the 544-person capacity will be used, including whether it includes anyone beyond OpenAI employees.
- The future status and timing of the paused Stargate UK data-centre project.
- Any UK-specific product, pricing, data-residency or customer-support arrangements.
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