This former notorious red-light district is now one of the world’s top AI hubs
London's King's Cross neighborhood has transformed from a former red-light district into a global hub for artificial intelligence companies. The area now hosts major tech firms like Google DeepMind and OpenAI, driven by a cluster of talent and strategic location.
Why it matters
This illustrates the rapid gentrification and economic shift of urban areas driven by the global AI boom.
What every U.K. AI startup wants to know these days is, how can I get office space in King’s Cross?
The area is so hot that a VC firm allegedly recently won a deal by promising a founder office space in the neighborhood. “We stop at nothing to win deals [for] and to support” founders, “including helping them source office space when needed,” the firm told me when asked about the rumor, declining to confirm or deny any details.
The neighborhood’s popularity began back in 2016 when DeepMind — then newly acquired by Google — moved in. Soon after, a flood of AI startups followed, wanting to be around the Google DeepMind magic. Today, they hope to take advantage of the cluster of AI talent there.
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