Nvidia-backed startup Luma AI has confirmed it will base its international operations in London with a cohort of about 200 employees following a recent US$900 million (A$1.4 billion) capital injection.
The Palo Alto company announced on Tuesday that the UK capital will serve as the central point for its expansion outside the United States.
To lead the new office, Luma has appointed former WPP exec Jason Day as Head of EMEA. Day, formerly the exec VP of Global Growth at Monks, will manage the company’s business development across the region.
Luma AI COO Caroline Ingeborn said Day’s background was suited to the company's growth phase.
“His leadership... makes him the ideal leader to drive our next chapter. With Jason leading from London, Luma AI can bring creative intelligence directly into the hands of marketers and storytellers around the world."
London expansion
Luma plans to hire approximately 200 employees for the London base by 2026 for R&D. The recruitment drive will target roles in engineering, strategy, and partnerships, accounting for roughly 40% of the company’s total workforce.
“London has some of the best people when it comes to research, given the universities here and institutions like DeepMind,” Luma CEO and co-founder Amit Jain said.
“We also consider London to be the entry point to the European market.”
The move follows the closure of a US$900 million Series C funding round two weeks ago led by Humain, an AI company owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund that values Luma at more than $4 billion.
The capital will support "world-scale" computing infrastructure, including ‘Project Halo’ - a 2-gigawatt supercluster built in partnership with Humain.
World models
Luma builds “world models” - software designed to simulate physical environments by processing video, audio, and images. This differs from text-based models used by platforms such as ChatGPT.
The company recently released Ray3, its latest model, which Jain has stated benchmarks higher than OpenAI’s Sora and is comparable to Google’s Veo 3.
Key details:
- Investment: $900 million Series C led by Humain
- Hiring: 200 roles in London by 2026
- Leadership: Jason Day (ex-WPP/Monks) appointed Head of EMEA
- Focus: Research, engineering and strategic partnerships
Luma joins a list of North American tech companies increasing their presence in the UK and Europe.
San Francisco-based Anthropic recently announced plans for offices in Paris and Munich after hiring in London, while Canadian firm Cohere has established its EMEA headquarters in Paris.
The region is increasingly viewed as a key source of engineering talent for companies developing advanced computing systems.
