A new AI hub in London encouraging collaboration between thousands of AI businesses and workers is set to be launched by Tech Nation in a bid to bring together the capital’s fast-growing AI cluster. 

The tech industry advocacy group, owned and operated by Brent Hoberman’s Founder’s Forum, announced the London AI Hub in collaboration with European AI group Merantix, Onfido and Quench.ai founder Husayn Kassai and flexible office provider Techspace. 

Set to launch in Farringdon in February, the initiative aims to bring together a fragmented sector. Hoberman said the hub would act as a “physical nucleus for meaningful collaboration across founders, investors, academics, policymakers and innovators”. 

The announcement follows the release of the government-sponsored AI Opportunities Action Plan by Matt Clifford which has defined the direction of Westminster as all-in on AI. 

“The UK’s AI sector is at an inflection point. The right infrastructure now will ensure compound returns for decades, driving both productivity gains and the creation of new AI unicorns,” Hoberman said.  

“The government’s plan to expand sovereign compute, open UK datasets, and reform immigration to attract top talent provides the perfect backdrop for initiatives like this.” 

The London AI Hub was in part inspired by the success of Level39, a Canary Wharf-based fintech incubator that was once home to the likes of Revolut. Further inspiration came from Station F in Paris and the Merantix AI Campus in Berlin. 

The Founders Forum chair added that as well as supporting the “1,300 plus AI companies” and “360,000-strong UK AI workforce”, this hub could expand its reach beyond the UK to become a centre of European AI innovation. 

Research from UKTN found that AI startup creation in Britain was picking up, with more than 500 incorporations in the final quarter of 2024, a 22% rise from the previous three months. 

The underlying infrastructure behind AI has also become a priority, with planning applications for data centres – now considered critical national infrastructure – in England and Wales jumping 40% last year. 

Over the past couple of years the capital has emerged as one of the top AI hotspots in Europe. 

As well as being home to the European teams of major US AI firms such as OpenAI and Google, London has spawned a number of prominent startups in the sector, such as ElevenLabs, Stability AI and Synthesia, which this week became Britain’s most valuable generative AI company. 

Already have an account? Log in