This former notorious red-light district is now one of the world’s top AI hubs
This former notorious red-light district is now one of the world’s top AI hubs
这个曾经臭名昭著的红灯区，如今已成为全球顶尖的 AI 中心之一
What every U.K. AI startup wants to know these days is, how can I get office space in King’s Cross? The area is so hot that a VC firm allegedly recently won a deal by promising a founder office space in the neighborhood. “We stop at nothing to win deals [for] and to support” founders, “including helping them source office space when needed,” the firm told me when asked about the rumor, declining to confirm or deny any details. 如今，每一家英国 AI 初创公司都想知道：我该如何在国王十字区（King’s Cross）租到办公室？该地区目前炙手可热，据称最近有一家风投公司为了赢得一笔交易，竟向创始人承诺能帮其在该区域搞定办公空间。当被问及这一传闻时，该公司表示：“为了赢得交易并支持创始人，我们不遗余力，包括在需要时帮助他们寻找办公空间。”但他们拒绝证实或否认任何细节。
The neighborhood’s popularity began back in 2016 when DeepMind — then newly acquired by Google — moved in. Soon after, a flood of AI startups followed, wanting to be around the Google DeepMind magic. Today, they hope to take advantage of the cluster of AI talent there. This has transformed King’s Cross into one of the world’s top AI hubs, rivaled only by San Francisco and Beijing. 该地区的走红始于 2016 年，当时刚被谷歌收购的 DeepMind 搬迁至此。此后不久，大量 AI 初创公司蜂拥而至，希望沾染谷歌 DeepMind 的“魔力”。如今，他们希望利用这里聚集的 AI 人才优势。这使得国王十字区转型为全球顶尖的 AI 中心之一，仅次于旧金山和北京。
Around London, it’s known by the sobriquet “Knowledge Quarter,” as it’s home to names like OpenAI, Meta, Isomorphic Labs, Cusp AI, Wayne, Recursive, and, a little farther down the road, Synthesia and Anthropic. The European Technology Network (ETN) just moved into a glossy new office nearby, while University College London sits around the corner. Mixed in with the new developments are trendy food spots like Hoppers and BAO. 在伦敦，这里被称为“知识区”（Knowledge Quarter），因为它汇集了 OpenAI、Meta、Isomorphic Labs、Cusp AI、Wayve、Recursive 等知名企业，稍远一点还有 Synthesia 和 Anthropic。欧洲技术网络（ETN）刚搬进附近一间光鲜亮丽的新办公室，而伦敦大学学院（UCL）也近在咫尺。在这些新开发项目之间，还穿插着 Hoppers 和 BAO 等时尚餐饮店。
Hop a train from King’s Cross, and founders can be in Cambridge in 45 minutes to source talent or can be in Paris in two hours to strike a deal. Who would have guessed that a little more than 20 years ago, this was one of the seediest areas in London? 从国王十字区搭乘火车，创始人可以在 45 分钟内抵达剑桥寻找人才，或者在两小时内到达巴黎洽谈业务。谁能想到，仅仅 20 多年前，这里还是伦敦最混乱的地区之一呢？
“In the ’80s, crack and heroin made the area a major narcotics market,” Hussein Kanji, an investor at Hoxton Ventures, said, recalling syringes in tree trunks and gangs patrolling the streets. “In 1982, the local church was occupied by the English Collective of Prostitutes for 12 straight days.” Then, in the early 2000s, a real estate developer had a dream and, well, “now it is the AI hotbed of the United Kingdom,” Kanji said. “What a change.” “在 80 年代，快克和海洛因让这里成为了主要的毒品市场，”Hoxton Ventures 的投资人侯赛因·坎吉（Hussein Kanji）回忆道，当时树干里塞满了注射器，街头还有帮派巡逻。“1982 年，当地教堂甚至被‘英国妓女集体’（English Collective of Prostitutes）占领了整整 12 天。”随后，在 21 世纪初，一位房地产开发商怀揣梦想进行了改造，于是，“现在这里成了英国的 AI 温床，”坎吉感叹道，“真是翻天覆地的变化。”
Around 18 months ago, his portfolio company BioCorteX moved from the neighborhood Holborn to the Jellicoe building in King’s Cross, hoping to be near the action. “Lots going on in London right now,” Nik Sharma, co-founder of BioCorteX, told me. “Lots of hyperscalers moving in.” That includes, reportedly, Jeff Bezos’ AI company Prometheus, which is also said to be in talks to move into the Jellicoe. 大约 18 个月前，他投资的公司 BioCorteX 从霍尔本（Holborn）搬到了国王十字区的 Jellicoe 大楼，希望能靠近核心地带。“伦敦现在非常活跃，”BioCorteX 的联合创始人尼克·夏尔马（Nik Sharma）告诉我，“许多超大规模企业正在入驻。”据报道，这其中就包括杰夫·贝索斯的 AI 公司 Prometheus，据说该公司也正在商谈入驻 Jellicoe 大楼的事宜。
There are around 3,600 AI startups in London, which, together, have raised around $12.1 billion out of the $14.8 billion raised in the city since late July, according to Dealroom. Since the start of June, AI-related startups have leased more than 1 million square feet of office space in London, according to the real estate firm Knight Frank. With that, prime rents in King’s Cross have risen 18% over the past three years, Chris Dunn, a commercial insight associate at the firm, told me. 根据 Dealroom 的数据，伦敦约有 3,600 家 AI 初创公司，自 7 月下旬以来，这些公司在伦敦筹集的 148 亿美元资金中占据了约 121 亿美元。房地产公司莱坊（Knight Frank）的数据显示，自 6 月初以来，AI 相关初创公司在伦敦租赁了超过 100 万平方英尺的办公空间。该公司的商业洞察助理克里斯·邓恩（Chris Dunn）告诉我，受此影响，国王十字区的优质租金在过去三年中上涨了 18%。
That percentage represents only the largest leases encompassing at least 10,000 square feet, like the ones OpenAI and Prometheus are signing. The shorter deals go for even more, he said, and now the vacancy rate for conventional office space is just 0.9%. “Demand has outstripped supply,” he continued. 这一比例仅涵盖了至少 10,000 平方英尺的大型租赁合同，例如 OpenAI 和 Prometheus 签署的那些。他说，较短期的租赁合同价格更高，目前传统办公空间的空置率仅为 0.9%。“需求已经超过了供应，”他补充道。
Today, one of the big topics of the area is sovereignty. It was a wake-up call for many when Anthropic shut off access to Mythos and Fable this summer, leaving some in the ecosystem to conclude: “We’d better look after ourselves,” Saul Klein, co-founder of the VC firm Phoenix Court, told me. 如今，该地区的一个热门话题是“主权”。今年夏天，当 Anthropic 关闭了对 Mythos 和 Fable 的访问权限时，这对许多人来说是一个警钟，让生态系统中的一些人得出结论：“我们最好还是靠自己，”风投公司 Phoenix Court 的联合创始人索尔·克莱因（Saul Klein）告诉我。
Phoenix Court is located in the King’s Cross area and has three portfolio companies in the vicinity, including Olix (which just announced a $3.3 billion valuation), Early Health and CoMind. Robin Klein, co-founder of the firm, said the shutdown of Fable and Mythos access was a “small but sharp reminder that Europe can’t simply rent its AI capabilities and capacity; it needs to build and hold some of its own.” Phoenix Court 位于国王十字区，在附近拥有三家投资组合公司，包括 Olix（刚宣布估值 33 亿美元）、Early Health 和 CoMind。该公司的联合创始人罗宾·克莱因（Robin Klein）表示，Fable 和 Mythos 访问权限的关闭是一个“虽小但尖锐的提醒，即欧洲不能仅仅依靠租用 AI 能力和算力；它需要建立并掌握属于自己的一部分。”
King’s Cross, he said, is where much of this building is actually happening. “The bigger question,” he continued, “is whether the U.K. builds the infrastructure, compute, energy, capital, to make this self-reliance durable, rather than just hosting outposts of U.S. labs.” 他说，国王十字区正是这种建设真正发生的地方。“更大的问题在于，”他继续说道，“英国是否能建立起基础设施、算力、能源和资本，使这种自力更生变得持久，而不是仅仅充当美国实验室的前哨站。”
Top founders want to stay
顶尖创始人希望留在这里
Simon Kohl, founder of Latent Labs, has offices in King’s Cross and San Francisco. The London office, at the moment, is growing faster, and he’s more bullish than ever on the ecosystem, he said. “The mood right now feels less like London trying to catch up and more like London becoming one of the default places to start a serious AI company,” he said. Latent Labs 的创始人西蒙·科尔（Simon Kohl）在国王十字区和旧金山都设有办公室。他说，目前伦敦办公室的增长速度更快，他对这个生态系统比以往任何时候都更看好。“现在的氛围感觉不再是伦敦在努力追赶，而是伦敦正在成为创办严肃 AI 公司的首选地之一。”
Look around and you are likely to see Wayve testing its autonomous cars. Founded in 2017 by co-founder Alex Kendall, the unicorn is one of London’s biggest success stories. “Ten years ago, building a frontier AI company from London felt like an unusual choice,” Kendall told me. “Now it feels like an obvious one.” 环顾四周，你很可能会看到 Wayve 在测试其自动驾驶汽车。这家独角兽公司由联合创始人亚历克斯·肯德尔（Alex Kendall）于 2017 年创立，是伦敦最成功的案例之一。“十年前，在伦敦创办一家前沿 AI 公司感觉是一个不寻常的选择，”肯德尔告诉我，“现在，这感觉是一个显而易见的选择。”
Wayve moved into King’s Cross in 2018 looking for a space that could double as a garage — “a rare combination in Central London,” Kendall said. He has watched the ecosystem mature around him — and it’s now evident that a startup can stay in London, raise serious capital, hire world-class AI talent, and remain globally competitive, he said. Wayve 于 2018 年搬入国王十字区，当时他们寻找的是一个可以兼作车库的空间——“这在伦敦市中心很难得，”肯德尔说。他见证了周围生态系统的成熟，他说，现在很明显，一家初创公司可以留在伦敦，筹集到大量资金，聘请世界一流的 AI 人才，并保持全球竞争力。
Down the street from Anthropic’s new 158,000-square-foot office is the AI agent builder Sierra and the AI video platform Synthesia. Laura Gonzalez Florez, Synthesia’s chief of staff and head of people, says the company moved into its glossy new office building a year ago to accommodate its growing team. They were drawn to the area for the same reason as everyone else: “It’s very close to the airport … very close to where a lot of investors are,” she said. 在 Anthropic 新的 15.8 万平方英尺办公室所在的街道下方，是 AI 智能体开发商 Sierra 和 AI 视频平台 Synthesia。Synthesia 的幕僚长兼人力资源主管劳拉·冈萨雷斯·弗洛雷斯（Laura Gonzalez Florez）表示，公司在一年前搬进了光鲜亮丽的新办公大楼，以容纳不断壮大的团队。他们和其他人一样被这个地区吸引：“这里离机场非常近……离许多投资者所在的地方也非常近，”她说。
Around two-thirds of Synthesia’s engineers are remote, Gonzalez Florez said, letting the company tap into an affordable, international, and diverse talent pool and helping it scale faster. “From London, we can hire and work, without any problem, people from anywhere, from Slovenia to Portugal,” she said. 冈萨雷斯·弗洛雷斯说，Synthesia 约三分之二的工程师是远程办公的，这让公司能够利用负担得起的、国际化的、多元化的人才库，并帮助其更快地扩张。“在伦敦，我们可以毫无问题地雇佣和与来自任何地方的人合作，从斯洛文尼亚到葡萄牙，”她说。