OpenAI to triple workforce at Dublin European headquarters to 350

DUBLIN, July 27 (Reuters) - OpenAI is to more than triple its headcount at its ‌European headquarters in Dublin to 350, the ‌ChatGPT maker said on Monday as it announced it ​was leasing 8,000 square meters (88,000 square feet) of office space in the city's Silicon Docks area.

The AI pioneer said it currently employs over 100 ‌people at its ⁠Dublin office, which opened in 2023, and that it plans to hire ⁠250 more over the next two years in both engineering and support operations.

Dublin is home to ​the European ​headquarters of a ​number of U.S. tech ‌giants including Google owner Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and Microsoft.

Foreign multinationals, mainly in the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, employ about 11% of Irish workers and often cite Ireland's highly educated workforce ‌as a factor in their ​decision to locate there. ​Many are also ​attracted by the country's tax regime.

Some ‌large technology companies such as ​Meta and ​TikTok have announced job cuts in their Irish operations during the past year and ​the government ‌has pointed to AI as a priority ​for attracting new investment.

(Writing by Conor Humphries; ​editing by Sarah Young)