Nvidia‑backed video‑generation startup Luma AI is joining a growing wave of U.S. tech firms expanding into the United Kingdom. The company announced on Tuesday that it will establish a major London office as part of a broader European roll‑out.
The Palo Alto‑based startup plans to employ roughly 200 staff members—about 40 % of its total workforce—at the new London hub by early 2027. Hiring will span research, engineering, partnerships and strategic development.
The expansion follows Luma’s recent $900 million Series C financing round, led by the Saudi Public Investment Fund‑owned AI firm Humain. The round pushed the company’s valuation above $4 billion and added to earlier backing from Nvidia.
Luma is focused on building “world models,” a class of multimodal AI that learns from video, audio, images and text. These models complement large language models (LLMs) such as those powering OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
Today the startup targets the marketing, advertising, media and entertainment sectors, offering its video‑generation technology through an API and a full‑featured content‑creation suite.
“With this Series C raise and the upcoming build‑out of global compute infrastructure, we have the capital and capacity to bring world‑scale AI to creatives everywhere,” said Amit Jain, CEO and co‑founder of Luma AI. “Launching across Europe and the Middle East is the logical next step in putting this power directly in the hands of storytellers, agencies and brands globally.”
Jain cited London’s talent pool as the primary reason for choosing the UK as the launchpad.
“London has some of the best researchers, thanks to world‑class universities and institutions like DeepMind,” he explained. “We also view London as the gateway to the broader European market.”
AI‑generated image created by Luma’s Ray3 model (Luma AI)
Luma AI
Luma is the latest in a wave of North American AI labs that are deepening their presence in the U.K. and Europe. The region offers a dense talent pipeline and a fast‑growing revenue market for generative AI services.
In recent months, other heavyweight AI players have announced similar moves: Anthropic opened offices in Paris and Munich after expanding hiring in London and Dublin; Canadian AI firm Cohere designated a Paris office as its EMEA headquarters; and OpenAI recently launched a new office in Munich.
Although world models are still a step behind the most advanced LLMs, many researchers argue they are critical for the next phase of artificial general intelligence (AGI) development.
“These visual models are about a year to a year‑and‑a‑half behind language models right now,” Jain noted. “But they will become the natural interface for AI in everyday use, especially as video consumption continues to dominate media consumption patterns.”
Tech giants including Google, Meta and Nvidia are also investing heavily in world‑model research, aiming to unlock new use cases ranging from immersive media to real‑time virtual production.
Luma’s latest model, Ray3, launched in September, reportedly outperforms OpenAI’s Sora and matches Google’s Veo 3 in benchmark tests, according to internal data shared with CNBC.
Market Implications
The video‑generation market is projected to exceed $15 billion by 2030, driven by demand from advertising agencies, streaming platforms and social‑media creators. Luma’s expansion into London positions it to capture a sizable share of this growth, especially as European brands accelerate the adoption of AI‑driven content pipelines.
From an investment standpoint, the $900 million Series C underscises the confidence of sovereign wealth funds and strategic partners in generative video AI. The capital infusion will likely fund large‑scale GPU clusters, data acquisition, and talent acquisition—key ingredients for staying competitive against entrenched players like Nvidia and emerging rivals such as Stability AI.
Regulatory considerations also play a role. The U.K.’s proactive AI strategy, which includes the AI Council and a clear roadmap for AI governance, offers a relatively stable environment for high‑risk AI research. This contrasts with more uncertain regulatory landscapes in parts of the EU, making the U.K. an attractive hub for fast‑moving startups.
Strategic Outlook
Looking ahead, Luma’s London base could serve as a springboard for deeper integration with European media firms and advertising agencies that are already experimenting with AI‑generated video. Partnerships with local broadcasters and adtech platforms could accelerate product adoption and create recurring revenue streams.
Moreover, the development of world models may unlock new monetization pathways, such as on‑demand video synthesis for personalized advertising, real‑time visual effects for live streaming, and AI‑assisted post‑production tools for film studios.
In summary, Luma AI’s UK expansion reflects a broader industry shift toward multimodal AI and highlights the strategic importance of the European talent pool, regulatory environment, and market opportunity. As the company scales its compute infrastructure and refines its world‑model technology, it is poised to become a key player in the next generation of AI‑driven content creation.
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