Bay Area Attracts 14 of US’ Largest Office Leases in 2025

As the artificial intelligence industry booms, so does the Class A office market in the Bay Area.

Last year, the region netted 14 of the 100 largest office leases in the U.S. for a total of 4.3 million square feet, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported, citing data from CBRE. AI companies and large tech employers led the pack as many firms either expanded their footprints or planted their first flags in the area.

San Francisco had four of the largest lease deals in the region, eight were in Silicon Valley and one each was in the East Bay and the Peninsula, up from 11 the year prior. AI firms now occupy at least 6 million square feet across Silicon Valley alone.

No other portion of the country has seen AI funding come close to the Bay Area’s approximately $100 billion in investment since 2020, per CBRE. Overall, the Bay Area saw a 2 percent increase in leased space, joining Manhattan at 3 percent as the only markets in the country to see notable gains in office leases.

Vacancy in the area remains high, hovering around 33 percent in San Francisco and reaching near record levels in the Peninsula. The numbers haven’t scared away firms, especially large players like OpenAI and Anthropic.

Anthropic just leased the entire 420,000-square-foot building at 300 Howard Street, adding to its 250,000 square feet nearby at 500 Howard Street and 100,000 square feet at 505 Howard it leased late last year. Earlier this month, Databricks expanded its offices in Sunnyvale’s Cityline development to 455,000 square feet, adding to its 305,000 square feet at an adjacent building leased last summer. OpenAI is reportedly in talks to grow its San Francisco offices by about 250,000 square feet, taking its total office space in the city to roughly 1 million square feet.

The Bay Area’s office leasing patterns mirror larger national trends. Last year, the largest office leases in the U.S. largely consisted of expansions rather than relocations. Demand for space was concentrated in top-tier buildings in central locations for employees. In the Peninsula, tech companies and other employers have been attracted to office buildings in walkable downtowns near Caltrain stops and other amenities.

High-end buildings attracted 90 percent of leasing activity in the fourth quarter, per Colliers data cited by the Business Journal. The Bay Area at large saw a second consecutive quarter of positive net absorption. With construction of new offices slowing and demand for premium buildings surging, tenants might eventually have to fight over the region’s older inventory as newer offices get snapped up.

— Chris Malone Méndez