OpenAI has committed to a long-term Silicon Valley footprint by executing a major office lease for a vacant corporate campus in Mountain View, according to published reports. The artificial intelligence company has agreed to lease approximately 439,000 square feet across the properties at 350 and 380 Ellis Street. The term of the lease is reported to run for 10 years, signaling a significant expansion outside the company’s existing San Francisco base.
The campus had been sitting vacant prior to the new agreement. Earlier this month, the San Francisco Business Times reported that OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, was in advanced negotiations for the Mountain View site with KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. KKR had come to control the campus in 2024 through a deed in lieu of foreclosure, following distress at the prior ownership level.
The latest reports indicate that OpenAI has now finalized a lease with KKR covering the entire 439,000-square-foot campus. As part of the deal, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported that OpenAI has secured the first opportunity to purchase the property before KKR offers it to other potential buyers. That purchase option adds a potential ownership path on top of the long-term occupancy commitment.
OpenAI has been actively seeking a Silicon Valley presence for some time, according to published accounts, and the Mountain View agreement provides a large-scale solution in a single campus. The location gives the company a substantial office platform in the region while the property remains under KKR’s control for now. The prior foreclosure and subsequent lease-up highlight the shift from a distressed ownership situation toward stabilized tenancy at the asset.
The Mountain View lease comes as OpenAI founder Sam Altman is reported to be seeking another $50 billion from investors this year. That fundraising effort coincides with the company’s ongoing real estate expansion on multiple fronts. In addition to the new Silicon Valley campus, OpenAI is also growing around its headquarters in San Francisco’s Mission Bay district.
In San Francisco, the company recently agreed to sublease more than 200,000 square feet from Dropbox near its existing base of operations. That sublease arrangement adds to OpenAI’s overall office footprint in the city while complementing the new 10-year commitment in Mountain View. Together, the Silicon Valley lease and Mission Bay sublease underscore the company’s need for substantial office capacity to support its growth.
For the Mountain View campus, the new tenancy by OpenAI replaces vacancy at a property that changed hands through a deed in lieu of foreclosure in 2024. With KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. now positioned as the counterparty to the lease and holder of the asset, and OpenAI holding a contractual first opportunity to acquire the site, the campus has moved from a distressed scenario toward a longer-term occupancy and potential ownership structure anchored by a single technology tenant.
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