Databricks has announced plans to invest more than $850 million in the UK over the next three years, significantly expanding its presence.
The data and AI giant will quadruple its London office footprint with a new 137,000-square-foot headquarters which will act as the company’s new EMEA hub.
Databricks has a growing UK and Ireland team of over 500 people, and this is expected to surpass over 1,000 people over the next few years.
Strategically located in Fitzrovia, the expanded space continues to place Databricks at the heart of the UK data and AI ecosystem, strengthening partnerships with many customers in the region, including Unilever, Rolls Royce, Nationwide, Virgin Atlantic, Department for Education, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Octopus Energy and Flo Health.
Its local customers include over 50% of the FTSE 100 Index.
The firm says the investment will help attract top AI talent, train the next generation of business leaders in data and AI, and meet rising demand for Lakebase, Databricks’ serverless Postgres database built for AI agents, and Genie, Databricks’ AI agent that lets any employee chat with their data and get trusted answers instantly.
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The news builds on Databricks’ plans to train 100,000 people across the UK and Ireland with data and AI skills by 2028. This includes partnerships with key UK and Irish universities such as London School of Economics and University College Dublin as part of its University Alliance Program, and its investment of $10 million in the UK and Europe to provide everyone — students, hobbyists, and aspiring professionals — with free access to the Databricks platform.
“The UK is a hub for AI innovation, and we are proud to make such a strong commitment to the market,” said Michael Green (pictured), UK and Ireland managing director, Databricks.
“When we opened our first dedicated UK office and EMEA hub in 2024, we had a clear aim: to be at the heart of the UK’s data and AI community, providing a space for our team and partners to come together to collaborate on the future of data and AI.
“This new office and investments accelerate that ambition even further.”