Anthropic filed for its hotly anticipate IPO on Monday — doubtlessly the greatest initial offering in historical past — and the San Francisco space’s luxurious markets are banking on huge business from freshly flush AI workers and early buyers.
“Their budgets are just getting bigger and bigger the longer they’re looking, because simply the valuations of the companies are growing, so they’re able to afford more,” Redfin agent Kelley Krock informed The Post.
For one purchaser at a main AI company, discovering the good home could wait. He had money to burn.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, left, speaks with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at Dreamforce in San Francisco on Sept. 15, 2026. Anthropic’s deliberate IPO could unlock huge fortunes for workers and early buyers. Getty Images
“I said, I’m not 100% sure this is the house for you, and his response back to me was that it doesn’t matter, he can make it a rental in a year,” Krock recalled.
A Redfin evaluation in July estimated present and former Anthropic and OpenAI workers’ potential mixed after-tax equity at $198 billion — equal to 29% of the San Francisco metro’s residential property worth.
“People are already spending that money that they anticipate getting,” Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics analysis, informed The Post.
“The pre-spending that you tend to see before the event happens tends to be a fraction of what happens after the event.”
Redfin agent Kelley Krock says some AI patrons’ budgets keep growing as their firms’ valuations climb. Courtesty of Kelley Krock
San Francisco is already one of America’s most costly locations to rent — and residents without AI stock could face an even larger squeeze. The metropolis’s median asking rent has reached $4,560 a month, roughly $965 more than a yr in the past, according to Zumper.
“The Anthropic IPO and other IPOs are going to make it even harder,” Sam Moss, government director of Mission Housing Development Corporation, informed ABC7, including that “most of us can’t afford houses already.”
San Francisco properties pictured in November 2023. Anthropic’s deliberate IPO could intensify competitors in the metropolis’s already heated housing market. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Wealthy patrons in other sectors are attempting to beat the Anthropic crowd to the closing desk forward of what Krock anticipates will be a “tidal wave.”
“They are very smart and trying to get into a contract now or get into a house now before the quote-unquote flood comes, and things get even more competitive,” she said.
Chen Zhao, Redfin’s head of economics analysis, says spending forward of an IPO tends to be only a fraction of what follows once workers can money in. Courtesy of Chen Zhao
The housing frenzy is already producing eight-figure overbids. An eight-bedroom mansion at 20 Cherry St. in San Francisco’s Presidio Heights bought for $28.5 million on Oct. 22 — a document $10 million above its $18.5 million asking price, just 20 days after being listed, according to MLS-backed brokerage data.
Business is also booming on the water, according to yacht seller Jeff Brown.
An open home signal outside a San Francisco home in November 2023. Redfin agent Kelley Krock says some rich patrons are speeding to buy before an anticipated wave of AI money makes the market even more aggressive. Bloomberg via Getty Images
“In our Sausalito store we broke all records in the last two years for sales,” Brown, whose Jeff Brown Yachts has patrons related with Anthropic and OpenAI, informed The Post. “It’s leading our West Coast.”
Axopar journey boats — which are usually 37 to 45 toes long and priced from $350,000 to $800,000 — have been a fashionable toy for techies of late.
Jeff Brown Yachts sells boats ranging from $350,000 to $54 million, with many gross sales between $2.5 million and $6 million, Brown says. Courtesy of Jeff Brown
“They’re using them every day,” said Brown, likening the boats to “a Range Rover on water.” He added, “They use them to commute around the Bay, they use them to go to a basketball game … they use them to go to a restaurant.”
His broader stock runs from $350,000 to $54 million, with many gross sales between $2.5 million and $6 million.
Brown, who has been in the boat business for more than 40 years, says AI-related prospects arrive with their homework full.
Superyachts at San Francisco’s America’s Cup Park. Yacht seller Jeff Brown counts patrons related with Anthropic and OpenAI among his prospects. San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
“The research is done. They’re really walking in the door kind of focusing on a particular boat or experience that they want to have,” he said. “So they’re really well prepared I would say. Prepared, well studied, knowledgeable.”
And, just because they’re rolling in dough doesn’t imply they’re not sensible with money.
“They’re very learned negotiators, they’re not wasting money and they’re not being impetuous in their decisions,” he said. “It’s a very specific process and they’re not rushing into things.”
Yacht seller Jeff Brown (left), pictured aboard a yacht, says his Sausalito store has damaged gross sales data over the previous two years. Courtesy of Jeff Brown
For the newly wealthy who don’t have much expertise on the water, Brown’s company presents coaching. Modern control panels also make boating simple, particularly for techies.
“You drive them with a joystick like you drive a computer,” Brown said. “So if you can operate a computer, a game with a joystick, you can drive these boats.”
Some prospects also look to chatbots to help with working their vessel.
Whether they’re shopping for yachts or properties, the people with the wads of money don’t always look the half.
“Holes in their jeans, glasses, hats backward,” Krock said. “They’re just like us, they put their pants on one leg at a time, and they are grateful for being in the right place at the right time.”