London AI scene can thrive despite DeepMind reset

If London’s King’s Cross is the nerve centre of the UK’s tech industry, then Google owner Alphabet's new headquarters there is its defining landmark. Rising just behind the famous train station, the building is about 300 metres in length and unfolds in low layers of timber, glass and concrete. The company intends for the space to serve as a “hub for AI innovation” – with staff due to move in this summer. It therefore seems like a strange time for Demis Hassabis, the influential British CEO of its DeepMind AI research lab, to step away from day-to-day operations.

Founded in the UK in 2010, DeepMind was acquired by Google in 2014 and later merged with its Google Brain division to become Google DeepMind. The company has long been viewed as the crown jewel of London’s AI scene, which trails Silicon Valley by a wide margin. Now it appears that its parent group wants to bring the British offshoot closer to its own Californian home. DeepMind’s former chief technology officer, Koray Kavukcuoglu, has been made senior vice president and will take over the day-to-day running of the company. The Financial Times reported that Kavukcuoglu relocated from London to Google’s Mountain View headquarters last year.