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San Francisco Realtors stunned by AI-driven housing boom
Chat GPT, could make its initial public offering in the months ahead, launching a string of high-profile IPOs for artificial intelligence companies. Economist and real estate experts say it's led to a sense of urgency among home-buyers in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO - OpenAI, the San Francisco-based company behind the popular ChatGPT chatbot, is preparing to go public, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported that the company could file initial IPO paperwork this week.
High-profile public offerings
If completed, the offering would launch a wave of high-profile initial public offerings from artificial intelligence companies and mark a major milestone for the industry.
By the numbers:
ChatGPT currently has more than 900 million weekly active users and more than 50 million consumer subscribers. OpenAI was last valued at more than $850 billion and could cross the $1 trillion mark ahead of its public listing.
San Francisco is also home to Anthropic, OpenAI's chief rival. Founded by former OpenAI researchers, Anthropic is also weighing a public offering this year, setting the stage for a competition over which AI company will be first to hit the public markets.
AI boom reshaping SF
Economists and real estate professionals say the AI economic boom is already reshaping San Francisco, reflected in a dramatic drop in commercial office vacancies and a surge in home and rental prices.
"I don't know what the right word is — amazing, wild, crazy — to describe the increase in $10 million and above sales. We're up like 60% year over year in terms of how many $10 million-and-above properties have sold this year. That's quite an increase," said Max Armour, a luxury real estate broker.
Jeff Bellisario of the Bay Area Economic Institute said there is an entire pipeline of so-called unicorn companies — startups valued at more than $1 billion — that are not yet widely known but are expected to enter the public markets within the next two to three years, potentially becoming the next generation of household tech names.
Big picture view:
OpenAI's IPO news comes just one week after a judge and jury in Oakland dismissed a lawsuit filed against the company by Elon Musk. Musk's own rocket and satellite company, SpaceX, is also planning to go public in the coming weeks, potentially timing its listing around the same period as OpenAI's.
Real estate broker Armour emphasized that the sense of urgency among buyers extends well beyond those who work in AI. All types of homebuyers, he said, are looking to purchase now — before the IPOs close and a flood of new wealth enters the market.
The Source: Interviews with local economists, realtors. The Wall Street Journal and Reuters contributed to this report.