LONDON — Salesforce is establishing an artificial intelligence center in London, demonstrating its confidence in the UK as a global technology hub.
The American software behemoth announced Thursday that it will open a more than 40,000-square-foot facility in London’s Blue Fin Building that can accommodate over 300 people.
According to the company, it will be used to promote industry collaboration among technology companies, AI experts, Salesforce partners, and customers, as well as to facilitate AI training and upskilling programs.
Salesforce expects the AI center to help create 500,000 AI-related jobs in the United Kingdom.
The facility will officially open on June 18 with a free event to train over 100 developers.
Salesforce stated that the center, which is expected to be the first of many worldwide, will support its business in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It will be led by Zahra Bahrololoumi, the firm’s CEO for the United Kingdom and Ireland.
The announcement was made at the Salesforce World Tour event on Thursday at the London Excel venue, which is expected to attract over 17,500 delegates and customers from companies such as Aston Martin, McLaren, Just Eat Takeaway, and John Lewis.
“By locating Salesforce’s first, flagship AI center in London, we are sending a clear message to customers and partners on AI: we are deeply committed to working closely together so that you can reap the rewards of this transformative technology, while ensuring it is a force for good,” Bahrololoumi, the CEO of Salesforce, said
$4 billion investment in the UK
The AI center is part of a $4 billion investment in the United Kingdom that Salesforce has committed to making over five years, beginning in 2023.
Salesforce announced the opening of its AI center, as well as the investment of more than $200 million in U.K. startups through its venture capital arm, Salesforce Ventures. These include AutoGen AI, a procurement platform, and Eleven Labs, a text-to-speech and voice generator powered by artificial intelligence.
Patrick Stokes, executive vice president of product and industry marketing, described the United Kingdom as a “really interesting place to
It’s a really interesting place to do it because some of the challenges with AI and data are, in some cases, more difficult to solve than in the United States, and there’s a little more regulation here. There’s also consumer protection. And, somewhat counterintuitively, this is a good thing for us as enterprises.developers, because if we can solve those problems here, we’ve essentially solved them everywhere. So, typically, you want to lean into the more challenging environments, from a product development standpoint, and learn as much as you can because, as you know, they are more challenging environments. We anticipate more of this type of regulation and consumer privacy protection. There are parts of the United States where we saw it emerging, and we’d like to see more of it. So I believe that leaning into the UK is a wise decision for us. And it ties in very nicely with the commitment we made, most likely right here in this room last year.
For a billion-pound investment in the UK.
The announcement comes amid concerns about whether Salesforce’s AI investments are paying off. Last week, the company reported lower-than-expected fiscal first-quarter revenue and provided guidance that fell short of investor expectations.
Salesforce reported revenue of $9.13 billion for the period, up 11% from the previous year but less than analyst expectations of $9.17 billion. The company said it expects adjusted earnings of $2.34 to $2.36 per share in the current quarter, which is lower than analysts’ expectations of $2.40.
Salesforce to open new AI center in London as part of $4 billion UK investment
