London

Anthropic, creator of the Claude chatbot, is significantly expanding its London operations with new office space for 800 employees. This move into the Knowledge Quarter, a hub for AI innovation, follows OpenAI’s similar UK expansion plans. Anthropic cites London’s talent pool and its role as a key research and commercial center outside the US as reasons for its growth. The expansion highlights London’s increasing importance as a global AI leader.

OpenAI has opened its first permanent London office, a 88,500 sq ft facility in King’s Cross designed for over 500 employees. This expansion signals strong commitment to the UK’s AI talent and ecosystem, despite recent pauses on large-scale infrastructure projects like “Stargate” due to energy costs and regulation. The move solidifies London as a key hub for OpenAI, alongside companies like Google DeepMind and Meta, contributing to the UK’s ambition to be a global AI leader.

Baidu plans to launch its Apollo Go robotaxi service in London by 2026, partnering with Uber and Lyft. This move into a major Western market aligns with the UK’s efforts to fast-track self-driving vehicle regulations. Baidu aims to integrate its autonomous vehicles onto the ride-sharing platforms, with testing set to begin in 2026, pending regulatory approval. This expansion is a significant step in Baidu’s global strategy to become a leader in autonomous mobility, facing competition from Waymo and other industry players.

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving unit, is expanding into Europe with its robotaxi service launching in London. Testing begins soon with human safety specialists, aiming for a commercial launch in 2026, pending regulatory approval. London will be Waymo’s second international city after Tokyo. The fleet will use Jaguar I-PACE EVs, with Moove managing vehicle operations. Waymo highlights safety benefits, reporting significantly fewer injury-causing collisions compared to human drivers, citing 100 million autonomous miles driven. The move aligns with the UK’s AV pilot framework and London’s “Vision Zero” initiative, while Wayve provides competition.

Shell plc announced the repurchase of a significant number of its own shares on June 27, 2025, as part of its capital management strategy. The announcement details the aggregated share repurchase transactions, including the number of shares purchased, prices paid, venue, and currency. This is part of a buy-back program initiated in May 2025.