OpenAI looks set to grow its Dublin-based workforce significantly, with a plan to move into a new European headquarters office capable of accommodating over 400 workers.
The ChatGPT creator is understood to have narrowed its search for some 45,000 sq ft (4,181 sq m) of office space down to two potential locations in Dublin’s city centre and south docklands. The first of these is College Square, the landmark office scheme developed by Pat Crean’s Marlet Property Group in Dublin city centre, while the other is the Tropical Fruit Warehouse, developed by Irish property company Iput on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay.
Were OpenAI to decide to locate its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) hub at College Square, its operations would sit alongside those of fellow US technology giant Workday, which is currently engaged in the fitout of its own new European headquarters office at the scheme. Workday signed a deal last year for all 38,648 sq m (416,000 sq ft) of College Square’s “super-prime” office space. The scheme comprises 540,000 sq ft of grade A office accommodation in total along with 54 apartments and 17,000 sq ft of retail space.
Should OpenAI choose instead to locate its offices at the Tropical Fruit Warehouse, it would take on space TikTok had intended to use for the expansion of its own Dublin operations. The Chinese social media platform pulled back from that plan in September 2024 having signed a long-term lease for the building’s entire 7,897 sq m (85,000 sq ft) with its developer Iput in August 2022. TikTok decided instead to bring all its Dublin-based workers together under one roof at its European headquarters in the Sorting Office on nearby Cardiff Lane.
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While mobile phone operator Three Ireland had been in an advanced stage of negotiations last October to take over the entire Tropical Fruit Warehouse for use as its own new headquarters, that move would appear to be on hold for now after Irish-American telecoms mogul John Malone’s Liberty Global entered into talks to acquire the company for as much as €1.5 billion. Should that deal proceed, Three Ireland could find its headquarter operations being located along with those of Liberty Global’s Irish subsidiary, Virgin Media Ireland.
Led by chief executive Sam Altman, OpenAI is behind ChatGPT and its investors include Microsoft, which owns 27 per cent of the business. OpenAI currently has 60 employees in Dublin, across engineering, GTM, privacy, user operations, finance and HR. The company, which is led in Ireland by Emma Redmond, its head of EU privacy and former Stripe chief privacy officer, is advertising for another 18 roles at present, including for two account directors in its sales team. It recently hired its head of sales for its EMEA hub in Dublin, in what is seen as one of the company’s most significant appointments outside the US to date.
Industry veteran Sanj Bhayro started in January and is now building out his team in Dublin.
“Sanj joined the company in January and this senior appointment reflects our continued growth and long-term ambition across EMEA and investment at our European HQ in Dublin,” an OpenAI spokesman told The Irish Times last week.
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