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California  + Bay Area  + Office  | 

AI-Related Tech Talent Grows 24% in Bay Area

The tech talent workforce in the San Francisco Bay Area with artificial intelligence (AI) skills increased 24% from last year despite slower tech job growth overall, according to CBRE’s 2025 Scoring Tech Talent report. The Bay Area has the most AI tech talent (76,079 workers), up from 61,497 in 2024, CBRE said. New York Metro was a distant second with 47,245.

AI-related companies’ rapid growth led to a rebound in office leasing activity by the high-tech industry. In the first half of 2025, tech companies accounted for 17% of total U.S. office leasing activity, up from 10% in late 2022. In San Francisco, AI-related companies leased 1.1 million square feet of office in the first half of the year, 75% of which was new growth.

“The AI industry could be the catalyst for another growth cycle among office-using companies, potentially boosting hiring and future office space demand,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center.

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Inside The Story

CBRE's Yasukochi

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

  • ◦Lease
  • ◦Economy
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