OpenAI revealed on Monday that it’s opening its first permanent London office.

The space will have capacity of over 500 team members, more than double OpenAI’s current headcount.

In February, the business commented it would build London its largest research hub outside of the U.S.

OpenAI has proclaimed it’s opening its first permanent London office with a capacity of over 500 team members, after the organization halted a major AI infrastructure project in the U.K.

The U.S.-based AI firm noted it had signed the lease for an 88,500 square foot space on Monday. In February OpenAI published it would build London its largest research hub outside of the U.S. The firm currently employs around 200 the public in the U.K. capital.

“The UK has an incredible depth of talent and a strong track record in AI,” Phoebe Thacker, London site lead at OpenAI, commented in a statement. “London is already a key hub for our research and teams, and this recent office gives us the space to keep building here.”

OpenAI’s recent office space will be located in the King’s Cross area of London, home to a slew of AI companies including Google DeepMind, Meta, Synthesia and Wayve.

The news comes just days after OpenAI confirmed it had paused plans for its U.K. Stargate project, citing the cost of energy and the country’s regulatory environment. This also touches on aspects of wall street.

Discussions between the business and its partner on the project, Nscale, are still ongoing, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. the decision to halt plans was considered a blow to the U.K.’s AI buildout.

Industrial energy prices in the U.K. are, on the other hand among the highest in the world. Critics of the U.K.’s AI infrastructure buildout previously told CNBC the high cost of energy and delays in accessing the national grid were key stumbling blocks.

The UK’s AI offensive

The U.K. has been looking to position itself as a leading AI hub globally, but it still lags far behind top ecosystems like the U.S. and China in both technological innovation and funding.

It launched its AI Opportunities Action Plan at the start of 2025 and AI startups have increasingly been raising large sums from VCs.

Funding has hit $6.7 billion so far this year, already just shy of the , according to Dealroom$8.2 billion picked up across the whole of 2025.

AI cloud enterprise Nscale raised $2 billion in March, in Feburary autonomous driving startup Wayve picked up $1.2 billion, and AI voice startup ElevenLabs has raised $500 million.

Following the Pentagon’s spat with OpenAI rival Anthropic, U.K. officials stepped up attempts to court the business, including proposing office expansion in London and a dual listing, the Financial Times reported earlier this month.