London bags $9bn US AI firm Replit’s first overseas office
Replit, the $9bn (£6.64bn) US AI coding start-up, has picked London for its first international office as the capital continues to attract some of Silicon Valley’s fastest-growing AI companies.
The San Francisco-based company has opened in King’s Cross and will use London as the base for its European operations, with plans to double its local headcount and investment over the next year.
Replit joins a growing cluster of AI companies expanding in the capital, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks and Palantir, as access to engineers and customers draws US technology firms to London.
Since 2025, London has attracted 86 AI-related foreign direct investment projects, according to fDi Markets, more than any other European city. Paris ranked second with 28, followed by Madrid with 26.
Technology companies accounted for a record 20 per cent of office leasing across major European cities in the first quarter of this year, according to JLL, with AI companies among those competing for prime space.
Replit’s arrival in King’s Cross adds another company to a technology cluster already home to Google DeepMind and the UK operations of OpenAI and Anthropic.
Sadiq Khan, who attended the opening, said Replit’s decision was a “huge vote of confidence in London”.
“As a world-leading city for technology, education and innovation, London has a wealth of talent, a diverse skills base and is already home to an array of leading AI companies,” the London mayor also said.
London draws growing tech investment
AI-related foreign investment announcements across the UK and EU reached a record 107 projects between April and June, up from 63 during the same period last year, according to fDi Markets.
Other US technology companies have also expanded their physical presence in London. Databricks plans to grow its local workforce to 500 by 2029, while AI companies including Luma AI and Jeff Bezos-backed Project Prometheus have targeted the capital for expansion.
Replit was founded in 2016 and says its platform, which allows users to build software using natural-language instructions, has more than 60m users globally. Its European corporate customers include PwC, EY, Mercedes-Benz, Trustpilot and Hg.
Chief executive Amjad Masad said the company wanted to use London both to serve its European customers and tap the UK’s technology workforce.
“Demand for Replit has been growing exponentially and we are thrilled to be here in London to serve our European base,” he said.
The company also announced a partnership with The Lord Mayor’s Appeal to run a four-week course for 100 young Londoners who are not in education, employment or training, teaching them how to build software using AI.
AI minister Kanishka Narayan said Britain would continue to seek investment from “rapidly growing AI companies like Replit” as the government looks to expand the country’s technology sector.