Microsoft has unveiled a new London hub for its consumer AI division, with Jordan Hoffmann, a scientist and engineer formerly with Inflection AI and DeepMind, at the helm.
The announcement follows Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s recent introduction of a consumer AI division led by Inflection AI’s founders, including Mustafa Suleyman, a co-founder of Deepmind, acquired by Google in 2014.
Nadella mentioned that several members of the Inflection team joined Microsoft’s AI unit, with Hoffmann being one of them. Hoffmann, who previously worked at Deepmind and later joined Inflection AI, will now lead the new London unit under Suleyman’s direction.
Suleyman highlighted Hoffmann’s expertise in a blog post, emphasizing their focus on expanding the team with new AI talent at Microsoft’s Paddington office. The team’s objectives include developing advanced language models and associated infrastructure.
This initiative aligns with Microsoft’s recent commitment to invest £2.5 billion ($3.15 billion) in the U.K. over the next three years, supporting the expansion of datacenters and training programs for the AI industry.
Given the U.K.’s status as a key player in AI research and development, alongside the presence of Google’s DeepMind in London, a competitive landscape for AI talent is expected to emerge.
