OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT released in 2021, is setting up its fifth European office in Zurich. In an internal memo published in the North American computer magazine Wired, the company headquartered in San Francisco informed its employees that the new Zurich-based subsidiary will be led by Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai from its competitor Google DeepMind, also located in Zurich.
The three computer vision and machine learning engineers have reportedly now been hired to work on multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) models for OpenAI. These models are expected to be able to perform tasks in various media, from images to audio. Mark Chen, Senior Vice President of Research at OpenAI, commented in an article by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung: “We are delighted to expand our international presence by opening our office in Zurich, which has developed into a leading European technology center.”
Beyer’s private webpage states that he co-led multimodal research activities and the codebase also at DeepMind and has already worked closely with Xiaohua Zhai and Alexander Kolesnikov there. Beyer frequently reported on OpenAI’s research results to his approximately 70,000 followers on X and gave his views on public controversies surrounding the company.
OpenAI already has outposts in London, Tokyo, and other cities. According to the information provided, the currently not-for-profit company plans to open up further subsidiaries in New York City, Seattle, Brussels, Paris, and Singapore in addition to the new office in Zurich.
The Financial Times reported at the start of the year that Apple has also headhunted several AI specialists from Google to work in a “secret European lab in Zurich.” ce/mm
AI in Greater Zurich
AI in Greater Zurich
Switzerland is emerging as a powerful AI hub, based on its excellence in precision mechanics and advanced industries. With world-class universities and the leading position in global innovation rankings, Switzerland, and especially the Greater Zurich Area, is a champion in artificial intelligence.
Related news
Meet with an expansion expert
Our services are free of charge and include:
- Introduction to key contacts in industry, academia, and government
- Advice on regulatory framework, taxes, labor, market, and setting up a company
- Custom-made fact-finding visits, including office and co-working space