OpenAI, a leading AI company, has its headquarters in San Francisco and is now expanding its presence by opening a new office in Zurich, Switzerland. This new branch will include three AI experts who previously worked at Google DeepMind. These experts are Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov, and Xiaohua Zhai. According to OpenAI, they are prominent researchers in the field of multimodal AI.
Multimodal AI is crucial for OpenAI’s mission. It involves developing AI that can understand and combine different types of information such as text, images, and sounds. This capability is central to achieving OpenAI’s goal of creating a versatile and general AI that is safe, accessible, and useful for everyone.
Lucas Beyer was a Staff Research Scientist at DeepMind and is known for his expertise in robust and scalable AI models that seamlessly integrate various data modalities. Alexander Kolesnikov held the same position and focused on innovations in deep learning for visual recognition and analysis. Xiaohua Zhai, a Senior Staff Researcher at DeepMind, brings extensive experience in multimodal learning and computer vision.
Mark Chen, Senior Vice President of Research at OpenAI, expressed enthusiasm about welcoming Lucas, Alexander, and Xiaohua to the team. He emphasized that their expertise and groundbreaking work in multimodal AI are recognized across the industry. Their contributions are vital as OpenAI continues to develop technologies that learn from the world and enable increasingly complex interactions.
OpenAI is actively working on general artificial intelligence (AGI) and also focuses on AI agents and hardware. The company already has offices in Dublin, London, Paris, and Brussels, but these locations are less focused on developing new technologies compared to the new Swiss office. OpenAI aims to bring together the world’s best talent to develop a general AI that benefits everyone.
It is not yet clear which specific parts of development will be handled in Switzerland. While OpenAI is working towards AGI, there are several smaller steps along the way. Current efforts include improving AI models, altering structures, and exploring methods beyond scaling to enhance models.
AI agents and proprietary hardware are also key focus areas for most AI providers. In San Francisco, OpenAI is working on its own device, which is intended to be less disruptive than current devices like the iPhone. For this project, they are collaborating with the office of former Apple chief designer Jony Ive.