Former UK chancellor George Osborne joins OpenAI to help governments expand their AI capabilities

The United Kingdom’s former chancellor George Osborne is now OpenAI’s newest hire.

The retired conservative politician, who served as the British government's chief financial minister from 2010 to 2016, announced on Xthat he is now managing director and head of “OpenAI for Countries”, a programme aimed at helping governments improve their artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

The role will be based in London, Osborne added, calling OpenAI the “most exciting and promising company in the world right now”.

Introduced in May, OpenAI for Countries’ aim is to help governments develop their AI infrastructure, including data centres, and supercomputers.

The programme also champions “democratic AI,” which OpenAI defines as “the development, use, and deployment of AI that protects and incorporates long-standing democratic principles”.

Supported by the United States government, OpenAI for Countries is billed as an extension of The Stargate Project, a joint AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI, Softbank, and Oracle.

OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, Chris Lehane, celebrated Osborne’s new role at the company in a LinkedIn post, writing that it “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.”

Lehane said that OpenAI for Countries has already worked with more than 50 countries to train workforces on AI skills, use AI to improve public services, establish safety and governance standards, and support AI-driven reindustrialisation.

According to Lehane, Osborne’s new role will involve expanding existing partnerships and building new ones. He said 30 governments have already expressed interest in joining OpenAI for Countries, including the UK and several European Union member states.

Osborne, who currently serves as chair of the British Museum, said he will be leaving his job as senior managing director at the investment bank Evercore to join OpenAI.