The Salesforce corporate logo hangs above the front door of Salesforce Tower on January 22, 2024, in New York City.
Gary Hershorn | Getty Images
LONDON – corporate technology giant Salesforce is opening an artificial intelligence center in London, making a bullish bet on the UK as a global technology hub.
The US software giant said in a statement on Thursday it was opening a more than 40,000-square-foot facility in London’s Blue Fin building that could accommodate more than 300 people.
It will be used to encourage industry collaboration among technology firms, artificial intelligence experts, Salesforce partners and customers, and to facilitate AI training and upskilling programs, the company said.
Salesforce said it expects the AI center to play a role in creating 500,000 AI jobs in the UK.
The facility will officially open on June 18th with a free event to train more than 100 developers.
Salesforce said the center, planned to be the first of many around the world, will support its business in the UK and Ireland. It will be led by the firm’s UK and Ireland CEO Zahra Bahrololumi.
The news was announced at the Salesforce World Tour event at London’s Excel Hall on Thursday, where more than 17,500 delegates and customers from the likes of Aston Martin, McLaren, Just Eat Takeway and John Lewis are expected to gather.
“By opening Salesforce’s first AI flagship center in London, we are sending a clear signal to clients and AI partners: we are deeply committed to working closely together so you can reap the benefits of this transformative technology while ensuring its power for good,” said Bahrololoumi of Salesforce.
$4 billion investment in UK
The AI center is part of a $4 billion investment in the UK that Salesforce has committed to over five years in 2023.
As well as announcing the opening of its artificial intelligence centre, Salesforce also said it had invested more than $200 million in UK startups through its venture capital arm Salesforce Ventures. These include the AutoGen AI procurement writing platform and Eleven Labs, an artificial intelligence speech and text generator.
The news comes amid concerns about whether Salesforce’s investments in artificial intelligence are paying off. Last week, the company reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings and issued guidance that fell short of investor expectations.
Salesforce reported revenue of $9.13 billion in the period, up 11% from a year ago but below analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. The company said it expects adjusted profit to be between $2.34 and $2. .36 per share in the current quarter, below analysts’ expectations of $2.40 per share.