LONDON — Enterprise technology giant Salesforce The company has opened an artificial intelligence centre in London, signalling its bullish stance on the UK as a global tech hub.
The US software giant said in a statement on Thursday that it will open a more than 40,000 sq ft facility in London’s Bluefin Building that can accommodate more than 300 people.
The company said the platform will be used to foster industry collaboration between technology companies, AI experts, Salesforce’s partners and customers, and to facilitate AI training and upskilling programs.
Salesforce said it hopes the AI centre will play a role in creating 500,000 AI-related jobs in the UK.
The facility will officially open on June 18th and host a free event to train over 100 developers.
Salesforce said the center, which will be its first globally, will support its UK and Ireland operations and will be led by Zahra Baroloumi, the company’s CEO for the UK and Ireland.
The news was announced at the Salesforce World Tour event at London’s ExCeL venue on Thursday, which is expected to attract more than 17,500 delegates and customers from companies including Aston Martin, McLaren, Just Eat Takeway and John Lewis.
“By locating Salesforce’s first flagship AI center in London, we are sending a clear message to our customers and partners on AI: We are committed to working closely together to help them realize the benefits of this transformative technology and ensure it has a positive impact on society,” Salesforce’s Baroloumi said in a statement.
$4 billion investment in the UK
The AI centre is part of Salesforce’s $4 billion commitment to the UK over five years from 2023.
As well as announcing the opening of the AI centre, Salesforce also revealed that it has invested more than $200 million in UK startups through its venture capital arm, Salesforce Ventures, including procurement bid writing platform AutoGen AI and AI-powered text-to-speech and speech generation tool Eleven Labs.
The news comes amid concerns about whether Salesforce’s AI investments are paying off. The company said last week It reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter revenue and issued guidance that fell short of investor expectations.
Salesforce reported quarterly revenue of $9.13 billion, up 11% from the same period a year ago but below analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. The company now expects adjusted earnings of $2.34 to $2.36 per share for the quarter, below analysts’ expectations of $2.40 per share.