Former UK chancellor George Osborne has joined OpenAI as managing director and head of its "OpenAI for Countries" division, leading the artificial intelligence giant's global push to partner with national governments. The London-based role marks the latest high-profile position for Osborne since leaving Parliament in 2017.
Osborne will oversee OpenAI's work with governments worldwide on national AI rollouts and infrastructure partnerships. The company has already launched projects including a $500 billion datacenter initiative in Norway and the United Arab Emirates, and holds agreements with the UK government and Estonia.
The former chancellor called OpenAI «the most exciting and promising company in the world right now» in a statement marking his appointment. He praised the leadership team: «In my conversations with Sam Altman, Brad Lightcap [OpenAI's chief executive and chief operating officer] and other senior colleagues, it's clear they are exceptionally impressive leaders and that they care very deeply about their mission to ensure the power of artificial intelligence is developed responsibly, and the benefits are felt by all.»
Osborne emphasized the division's goal to help «societies around the world share the opportunity this powerful technology brings.» The company plans to expand into Argentina, Australia, Germany and South Korea.
Career since Westminster
Osborne served as chancellor from 2010 to 2016 before leaving Parliament a year later. He has since accumulated positions including chairman of the British Museum, co-president of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, adviser to cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, and co-host of the Political Currency podcast. He previously served as editor of the Evening Standard and held roles at financial firms BlackRock and Robey Warshaw. He is leaving his position as senior managing director at investment bank Evercore for the OpenAI role.
Tech firms target government AI deals
Osborne's appointment reflects a broader industry trend, with major US technology companies increasingly focusing on national government AI adoption. Microsoft, Google and Palantir have all been pushing AI services to the British government. His predecessor as chancellor, Rishi Sunak, joined OpenAI's rival Anthropic as an adviser in October.
Chris Lehane, OpenAI's chief global affairs officer, said the hiring «reflects a shared belief that AI is becoming critical infrastructure – and early decisions about how it's built, governed, and deployed will shape economics and geopolitics for years to come.» He framed the competition as between democratic AI systems «designed to put this technology into the hands of people» and autocratic alternatives that «will be used to concentrate the technology in the hands of the few.»
OpenAI, valued at approximately $500 billion, faces multiple lawsuits from families whose children died by suicide after interacting with ChatGPT. The family's lawyer in one case involving 16-year-old Adam Raine, who killed himself in April, claimed «months of encouragement from ChatGPT» led to the teenager's death.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
