Exclusive: Databricks commits $850m in vote of confidence for UK tech
Databricks is pouring more than $850m (£644m) into the UK over the next three years, City PM understands, in a major vote of confidence in Britain’s position as a European AI hub.
The US data and AI group said it would quadruple its London office footprint with a new 137,000 sq ft headquarters in Fitzrovia, which will serve as its new EMEA hub, while expanding hiring and product rollouts across the UK.
The investment comes as Britain tries to strengthen its standing in the global AI race, with ministers pushing an AI Opportunities Action Plan and a wider effort to boost skills and infrastructure.
Michael Green, Databricks’ UK and Ireland managing director told City PM: “This investment is a reflection of the great ecosystem and the work that’s going on right now”.
“The UK is a hub for AI innovation, and we are proud to make such a strong commitment to that”, he added.
Databricks said the new office would support a UK and Ireland headcount expected to pass 1,000 over the next few years.
The company, which works with over half of the FTSE 100, said the site would include a dedicated executive briefing centre for partners and customers, and support a growing local research and development team.
Green said the expansion reflected the pace of Databricks’ own growth as well as the momentum it is seeing among UK customers.
“We’re going through massive growth”, he said. “If we didn’t do it now, we’d be bursting at the seams to be honest.”
Skills push lands as firms look to close AI gap
Alongside the property expansion, Databricks said it would continue its plan to train 100,000 people across the UK and Ireland in data and AI by 2028.
That includes partnerships with universities including the London School of Economics, University of Sheffield and University College Dublin, as well as wider access to the company’s free platform for students and professionals.
“There’s no UK business that’s not doing that,” he said of training. “Last week, we did our CIO forum, we had over 100 executives, C-suite in the room, and talking about the skills gap was a common message that we had.”
He added that the programme was aimed at the next generation entering the labour market, as well as current workers.
The announcement lands at a time of mixed sentiment in the software market, with investors increasingly nervous about whether AI will disrupt established software business models.
But Green doubled down on the shift being more about finding value than pulling back, arguing that “the software market’s just evolving”.
“I would say it’s how organisations are pivoting to make sure they get the best out of the data that they get, the true value and the ROI.”
“Six months ago, all enterprises and FTSE 100 companies and everything were actually playing around,” he also said. “Roll forward six months later, and 57 per cent of those enterprises are now live in production.”
For Databricks, the new London office is also about staying physically close to the UK’s tech ecosystem.
“We don’t want to lose the fact that we’re the heart of data and AI,” Green said. “Where we’re strategically placed exactly does that. It’s attracting top talent, it’s attracting locals, it’s training the next generation”.
For a UK tech sector often forced to defend its place against bigger markets, the scale of the commitment is likely to be read as a clear signal that international firms still see Britain as a serious place to build.