Microsoft has unveiled plans to establish an AI research and development hub in London, spearheaded by former Google DeepMind researchers, in a move aimed at bolstering the tech giant’s machine learning capabilities.
Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI and co-founder of DeepMind, outlined the initiative in an announcement on Sunday. The new hub will concentrate on advancing Microsoft’s expanding array of machine learning tools.
Microsoft’s collaboration with OpenAI has already seen AI integration across various products such as Windows, Bing, Github, and Office 365, with more integrations expected in the future.
Despite substantial investments by Microsoft in supporting OpenAI‘s development of AI models, profitability has reportedly been a challenge, with services like Github Copilot allegedly facing losses of $20 per user per month. Similarly, the reception to Copilot for Office 365 has been mixed.
To drive commercialization of its AI investments, Microsoft recently recruited Suleyman to its leadership team. Suleyman’s expertise in AI research, development, and ethics, demonstrated during his tenure at DeepMind and Inflection AI, makes him a valuable addition to Microsoft.
Jordan Hoffman, another former DeepMind and Inflection AI member, will lead Microsoft AI’s London hub. His immediate focus will be on recruiting top talent to support Microsoft’s AI products, potentially involving talent acquisition from key model builders and startups.
This announcement builds on Microsoft’s existing investments in the UK, including its Cambridge research lab, plans to deploy 20,000 GPUs by 2026, and a £2.5 billion ($3.16 billion) commitment to preparing British workers for the gradual integration of AI.
The UK government has been actively positioning itself as a hub for AI development, hosting events like the AI Safety Summit and investing in supercomputing infrastructure. Notably, the Isambard-AI system at the University of Bristol, based on Nvidia‘s Grace-Hopper Superchips, is expected to deliver significant AI performance upon completion later this year.
Furthermore, the UK government has allocated £100 million ($126 million) to regulators and research universities to address AI challenges, signaling a commitment to fostering AI innovation and development in the country.