PANews reported on April 16 that Anthropic announced on Thursday that it is expanding its operations in London, with new office space accommodating 800 people. This comes days after rival OpenAI announced plans to open its first permanent office in London. Anthropic stated that it already has over 200 employees working in London. Pip White, head of Anthropic's Europe, Middle East, and North Africa region, said in the statement: "London is already one of our most important research and business hubs outside the US, and our expansion in the Knowledge Park provides space for our future growth." He added, "The UK brings together ambitious companies and institutions that understand the risks to AI security and has an excellent pool of AI talent – ​​we want to be the crossroads of it all." Earlier reports indicated that British officials attempted to recruit Anthropic after a dispute with the Pentagon over the use of its AI models.