OpenAI is putting an even bigger wager on the Seattle area, signing a large new lease in Bellevue because the ChatGPT-maker expands close to the headquarters of two key company cloud companions.
The corporate is taking a further ten flooring at Metropolis Middle Plaza in downtown Bellevue, boosting its footprint to 296,000 sq. toes, in keeping with sources acquainted with the matter. OpenAI beforehand occupied two flooring within the constructing. It’s one of many largest AI firm leases within the area.
The San Francisco-based firm now has room for greater than 1,000 staff on the workplace, primarily based on typical industrial actual property requirements. OpenAI, which arrived in Bellevue in 2024, at present employs greater than 300 folks within the Seattle space, in keeping with LinkedIn information — up from round 169 in September.
The workplace provides OpenAI a big hub only a brief drive from Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters campus and inside a couple of blocks of Amazon’s increasing Bellevue towers, tightening its ties with each cloud giants.
Microsoft has invested billions of {dollars} in OpenAI and serves as its major strategic accomplice, offering the Azure cloud infrastructure that underpins a lot of OpenAI’s fashions and merchandise.
On the identical time, OpenAI has deepened its relationship with Amazon, inking a $38 billion cloud deal in November. Amazon is reportedly in talks to speculate as much as $50 billion in OpenAI as a part of a brand new funding spherical.
Microsoft beforehand occupied a majority of the 26-floor Metropolis Middle Plaza constructing however mentioned in 2023 that it might not renew its lease. The constructing is adjoining to a lightweight rail station that may provide transit connection to Seattle beginning in March.
CoStar reported on OpenAI’s enlargement earlier this week.
OpenAI just lately acquired Seattle startup Statsig for $1 billion. The corporate can also be reportedly gearing up for an IPO.
The Wall Avenue Journal reported that OpenAI is paying staff “greater than any tech startup in current historical past,” with the typical stock-based compensation set round $1.5 million per particular person on the firm, which has round 4,000 staff.
OpenAI now has one of many largest workplaces amongst out-of-town tech corporations with satellite tv for pc engineering facilities throughout the Seattle area. Meta, Google, Apple, and different Silicon Valley giants have substantial footprints within the space, which boasts one of many world’s prime technical expertise swimming pools. OpenAI rival Anthropic opened an workplace in Seattle two years in the past and is hiring.
Seattle has essentially the most AI engineers within the U.S. behind Silicon Valley, in keeping with a 2024 report from enterprise capital agency SignalFire.
OpenAI’s new lease additionally displays a rising position for the Eastside within the AI increase. Many expertise corporations have signed new or expanded leases in and round Bellevue just lately, together with Snap, Anduril, Shopify, Snowflake, Walmart, and Chewy. Uber and Databricks are filling the town’s latest workplace tower, in keeping with the Puget Sound Enterprise Journal.
Emptiness charges nonetheless stay excessive in downtown Bellevue, reaching 25.4% on the finish of final yr, in keeping with Broderick Group.
That’s nonetheless not as excessive as downtown Seattle, the place emptiness charges hit a document excessive in This fall, as much as 34.7%, in keeping with CBRE.
“Notably, a rising variety of new-to-market entrants … are selecting the Eastside over Seattle, drawn by Bellevue’s fashionable workplace stock, enterprise pleasant local weather and expert expertise workforce,” Broderick famous in its This fall report.
