Databricks opens first European HQ in London in bet on UK

Data and AI giant Databricks is set to open its first official European headquarters in London, as it looks to cement the UK as a key market for growth. 

The company’s UK staff are set to move into the new Soho-based office on Monday, ahead of an official launch event on 3 October.

While Databricks is not enforcing a mandatory return to the office, the space has been designed to encourage collaboration and attract employees back to in-person work.

“We’re hiring at pace,” said Michael Green, Databricks’ vice president for Northern Europe. “How do you get people really effective? You get them in, you get them collaborating. You can do that through remote working but if you’ve got a hub and a space, it’s going to attract them to come in.”

Databricks, which currently employs 400 people in the UK, was previously located in a Wework space nearby. Green said the new home reflects the company’s confidence in the UK tech market.

Last year saw a record-breaking 51,017 new tech companies incorporated in the UK, according to audit, tax and consulting firm RSM.

“The UK has seen astounding growth in the data and AI space, so we want to make sure we capture the talent,” Green said, adding that the space is a major draw for customers, too, who are free to use the new five-storey building for meetings and training sessions.

Databricks helps companies and organisations develop AI solutions, with big clients such as Shell and Rolls Royce. Recently, it worked with Heathrow to speed up its passenger flow forecasts from two weeks to four hours while decreasing the margin of error from 30 per cent to 10 per cent.

Green rejected the idea that we are in an AI bubble and said the industry is “at an exciting point of change”.

“This is something that is going to be here for decades because it’s changing our everyday lives and how we operate,” he explained. ” Providing a facility that helps train those people be it us, customers, partners, is huge.”