Why are British politicians flocking to US tech giants?

The AI ​​talent wars show no signs of slowing down, with companies making headlines weekly for their latest high-profile hires. This includes engineers who poach each other or Get hired But also, increasingly, senior executives who can support them as they expand.

Less than 10 days after Slack CEO Dennis Dresser Become Director of Revenue at OpenAIFormer British Finance Minister George Osborne declared that it was Join Sam Altman Company. Shortly thereafter, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase separately hired Osborne Leading its internal advisory board.

The announcements have drawn particular attention in the UK, where commentators have suggested Osbourne is joining a group Growing list From former British politicians who now work for major American technology companies.

If you’re not familiar with him or this trend, here’s what you need to know.

What did Osbourne’s career look like?

George Osborne, a former Conservative MP, served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 – a role equivalent to Chancellor of the Exchequer or Chancellor of the Exchequer in other countries, and is currently held by Rachel Reeves.

Following the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron following the 2016 Brexit vote, Osborne eventually left his public position in 2017. Along with many other assignments, including a part-time advisory role for the investment firm BlackRock, he served as editor of BlackRock magazine. Evening standard From 2017 to 2020.

During that period, he also co-founded the venture capital firm, 9 capital yardsWith his brother Theo W Brother-in-law Theo David Fisher As co-founders and managing partners. Several companies in 9yards’ portfolio have since gone public — including Robinhood, Toast, and Coinbase.

What is his new role at OpenAI?

Osborne Announce On X he was joining OpenAI “as Managing Director and Head of OpenAI for Countries (C), based here in London.” It will help expand existing partnerships and build new ones,” wrote Chris Lehane, chief global affairs officer at OpenAI He is linkedin.

Introduced in May 2025, OpenAI for countries It is an initiative through which the AI ​​company collaborates with governments looking to build data center capacity within a country and localize ChatGPT to its language and culture.

OpenAI for Countries is an extension of Stargate projecta $500 billion initiative through which OpenAI is currently being implemented Building five new data centers Across the US with Oracle and SoftBank. But beyond infrastructure, its stated goal is to “support countries around the world that prefer to build on the rails of democratic AI.”

OpenAI He is ten years oldIt’s only natural that he starts hiring the kind of talent he wouldn’t otherwise get He was rejected at the Ritz for wearing sneakers. Osborne, an Oxford graduate and son of a baron, fits the bill – but his network and reach are even more valuable, and his podcast with former Labor shadow chancellor Ed Balls, called “Political currency“, which confirms his extensive political connections.

His track record and connections could be directly relevant to Coinbase, which he was already advising, where he will now play “a more active role in helping us with policymakers around the world,” the company’s chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, said. He told Reuters.

Staying on the right side of regulators is especially important for cryptocurrency exchanges like Coinbase, which are making efforts to influence governments in the U.S. and beyond. But this is also crucial for OpenAI, which intends to make an impact as AI gains a foothold on governments’ agendas.

According to Lehane’s LinkedIn post, Osborne’s decision to take on the role “reflects a shared belief that AI has become critical infrastructure — and early decisions about how to build, manage, and deploy it will shape economics and geopolitics for years to come.”

Style to watch

Osborne’s latest role immediately drew parallels with other prominent British politicians who have joined major US tech companies.

These include former UK Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, who served as head of policy at Meta For more than six yearsMore recently, former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has taken on advisory roles With Microsoft and artificial intelligence company Anthropic.

This trend raises different concerns depending on your point of view. Some critics worry that active members of parliament like Sunak may defend the interests of American companies while serving in government. Others disagree with former officials like Osborne who draw on their government experience and connections to secure it Very profitable Private sector jobs.

The phenomenon of “revolving door” between the government and the private sector Nothing new. But the practice has attracted increasing scrutiny in Europe, especially when it comes to controversial foreign companies – whether technology companies or retailers. Like Shane – Rent the former Government officials To help navigate regulations and influence policy.

On the other hand, it is simply a matter of leveraging skills and experience. In his bio on the 9yards team page, the venture capital firm notes that “George pioneered many of the regulations that positioned the UK as a global leader in fintech, including open banking and the FCA’s ‘sandbox’.”

But others view Osbourne’s career moves more critically. They point to his controversial austerity policies when he was chancellor, and point out that he has a history of ethical concerns about the revolving door. For example, when he took the job of editor of the Evening Standard in 2017, he failed to first get approval from the government’s ethics watchdog – a move that led to criticism of the body as “toothless”. His position at the time was clear: “At the age of 45, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life just as a former chancellor,” Osborne declared.

Either way, it’s this mentality — moving quickly from public service to high-paying private roles — that makes his appointments at OpenAI and Coinbase part of a broader pattern that concerns ethics watchdogs today.