Google names London office 'Platform 37' in a nod to railway neighbour, AI 'Go' match


The Google logo is seen outside the company's offices in London, Britain, June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - Google ⁠has named its new London headquarters "Platform 37" in ⁠a nod to its neighbour, King's Cross railway station, ‌and "Move 37" - a pivotal play made by DeepMind's AI system AlphaGo in a legendary match of the ancient boardgame Go against world champion Lee ​Sae Dol.

Teams from Google and Google ⁠DeepMind, the company's AI ⁠research laboratory, will begin to move into Platform 37 in the ⁠summer, ‌Google said.

"Move 37", played by AlphaGo almost 10 years ago to the day, was so unconventional ⁠human experts initially thought it was a mistake, ​Demis Hassabis, ‌Google DeepMind Co-Founder and CEO, said in a blog ⁠post about the ​building's new name on Thursday.

But as the game unfolded, it became clear it enabled AlphaGo to win.

"AlphaGo's victory heralded the ⁠beginning of what is now recognised as ​the modern era in AI," he said.

The building, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and Bjarke Ingels, stretches 330 metres adjacent to ⁠the railway tracks leading to King's Cross. Dubbed a "landscraper", it is longer than London's 310-metre Shard skyscraper is tall.

Platform 37, Google's first wholly owned and designed building outside the United ​States, has had a long gestation ⁠since it was announced in 2013, including delays in fit ​out.

Google said it would open "The AI ‌Exchange", a community space where people ​can learn about AI, in the building later this year.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)

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