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Young AI Founders Drive San Francisco Tech Boom

lite News Desk 2 min read

At a glance

  • Young entrepreneurs in their 20s are launching AI startups in San Francisco
  • AI companies in the city now occupy 5.7 million square feet of office space
  • San Francisco-based AI startups raised over $50 billion in early 2025

San Francisco is seeing a surge in new AI startups led by entrepreneurs in their twenties, many of whom have left college to pursue business opportunities in the technology sector.

Several young founders, such as Brendan Foody, Karun Kaushik, and Jaspar Carmichael-Jack, have established AI companies in the city, securing millions in funding and building teams that employ dozens of workers.

Mercor, a company started by Brendan Foody and two high-school friends, completed a $100 million funding round in February 2025, resulting in a company valuation of around $2 billion. The company has hired about 150 people across locations in San Francisco and India and is preparing to relocate to a larger office space.

Other developments in the sector include leadership changes, such as Alexandr Wang, who previously served as CEO of Scale AI, stepping down from that role and joining Meta to oversee its superintelligence lab.

What the numbers show

  • San Francisco-based AI startups raised over $50 billion in venture capital in the first half of 2025
  • Mercor raised $100 million in February 2025, reaching a valuation of about $2 billion
  • AI companies in San Francisco now occupy approximately 5.7 million square feet of office space, up from 2 million in 2020

The growth of AI activity in San Francisco has been accompanied by increased leasing of office space, with startups taking advantage of lower prices and moving away from remote work patterns that were previously common in the industry.

Neighborhoods such as the Mission District, West Soma, and Potrero Hill have become central locations for these AI companies, with the area sometimes referred to as “Area AI.”.

According to reports, the expansion of AI businesses has contributed to rising numbers of entrepreneurs, increased venture capital investment, and higher transit ridership in the city.

AI startups are also reversing earlier trends by leasing more office space, which has contributed to the overall revitalization of San Francisco’s business districts.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.

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