Both AI giants are racing to plant flags in London's Knowledge Quarter, with over one million square feet of office space leased by AI firms since early 2025
Anthropic just signed a lease on a 158,000-square-foot London office that can hold up to 800 people. The company currently has around 200 staff in the city. That’s not expanding. That’s quadrupling.
OpenAI, not to be outdone, confirmed plans for its first permanent London office with capacity for 544 employees, expected to open in 2027. It will be OpenAI’s largest research hub outside the US.
London’s quiet transformation into an AI capital #
DeepMind, now owned by Google, has operated in London since 2010. More than one million square feet of office space has been leased by AI-linked firms in London since early 2025.
Anthropic first opened a London office back in 2023, establishing an initial foothold. The new lease represents a fundamentally different level of commitment. Pip White, Anthropic’s head of EMEA north, pointed to London’s “exceptional AI talent pool” as the primary reason for the expansion.
Pip White, Anthropic’s head of EMEA north, cited London’s exceptional AI talent pool as a key driver for the company’s expansion in the region.
Anthropic’s new space sits in the Knowledge Quarter, a stretch of central London that has become a magnet for technology organizations.
OpenAI had maintained a non-permanent presence in London before committing to its upcoming permanent hub.
Why London, why now #
The UK government has been deliberately courting AI investment, positioning itself as a lighter-touch regulatory alternative to Brussels while still maintaining credibility on AI safety. The country hosted a global AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in late 2023, and both Anthropic and OpenAI were prominent participants.
What this means for the AI industry and investors #
The one million square feet figure for AI-related office leases since early 2025 also suggests that the London commercial real estate market is becoming a proxy indicator for AI industry health.
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