These days, almost every British AI founder wants the answer to one question: How do I find office space in King's Cross? Demand is so intense that, according to rumor, one venture firm closed a deal by providing a founder with office space in the neighborhood. Asked about the rumor, the firm declined to confirm or deny it, telling me, "We stop at nothing to win deals [for] and to support" founders, "including helping them source office space when needed."
King's Cross became a magnet in 2016, when Google moved its newly acquired DeepMind unit there. A wave of AI companies followed, drawn by the DeepMind effect and hoping to tap the concentrated AI talent. Today the district ranks among the world's leading AI hubs, alongside San Francisco and Beijing.
Locals call it the Knowledge Quarter because it hosts OpenAI, Meta, Isomorphic Labs, Cusp AI, Wayne, Recursive and, further along, Synthesia and Anthropic. The European Technology Network (ETN) recently opened a new office nearby, and University College London is around the corner.
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New restaurants have also appeared among the office blocks, including Hoppers and BAO. By rail, founders can reach Cambridge in 45 minutes to recruit, or reach Paris in two hours to close a deal. It is hard to believe that just over two decades ago this was one of London's roughest neighborhoods.
"In the '80s, crack and heroin made the area a major narcotics market," said Hussein Kanji, an investor at Hoxton Ventures, who recalled needles left near trees and groups moving through the streets. "In 1982, the local church was occupied by the English Collective of Prostitutes for 12 straight days." He added, "Then, in the early 2000s, a real estate developer had a dream and, well, now it is the AI hotbed of the United Kingdom. What a change."
The transformation is visible in the mix around King's Cross station: new office blocks and university buildings now occupy streets that were once notorious for prostitution and drugs.
The area's revival did not happen overnight. A developer's vision in the early 2000s set the regeneration in motion, creating the modern office spaces and rail connections that later made the neighborhood an obvious home for DeepMind and the startups that followed. By the time the AI wave arrived, King's Cross was already one of London's best-connected districts, with Cambridge and Paris within easy reach.
About 18 months ago, Kanji's portfolio company BioCorteX relocated from nearby Holborn to the Jellicoe building in King's Cross, seeking proximity to the action. "Lots going on in London right now," "Nik Sharma, co-founder of BioCorteX, told me". "Lots of hyperscalers moving in." That reportedly includes Jeff Bezos' AI company Prometheus, which may also be negotiating space in the Jellicoe.
The 18% rise in prime King's Cross rents applies only to the biggest leases, those for 10,000 square feet or more, such as the deals OpenAI and Prometheus are signing, according to Chris Dunn, an associate in commercial insight at Knight Frank. For smaller or shorter-term deals, rents go even higher, he added.
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