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

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By Reuters | Updated: March 12, 2026

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 (GOOGL.O) 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

© Thomson Reuters 2026