Moloco Inks Sublease At 2 Gansevoort Amid AI Lease Boom

Artificial intelligence firm Moloco is expanding its Manhattan footprint, joining a growing number of AI companies racing to lock in office space.

The Silicon Valley-based AI advertising firm is subleasing about 25,000 square feet at Sage Realty’s 2 Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District from sublandlord Fortress Biotech, a spokesperson for the company said. The firm is relocating from Kaufman Organization’s 56 West 22nd Street in Midtown South.

The deal comes amid a surge in AI leasing that’s helping drive Manhattan’s office market recovery. AI companies are taking space at roughly twice last year’s pace, according to JLL data, with average deal sizes more than doubling as firms lock in offices ahead of anticipated hiring waves.

Rather than sizing space strictly to current headcount, many AI tenants are leasing with aggressive growth in mind, planning for rapid expansion cycles and prioritizing flexible, reconfigurable layouts, per JLL.

Venture capital firms are following suit, clustering near the startups they back. Since 2020, there have been 56 new and renewal leases from VC tenants across the city.

In some cases, AI tenants are pushing pricing to new levels. At One Vanderbilt, AI infrastructure firm Nscale Global Holdings recently signed a 7,200-square-foot lease with a starting rent of $320 per square foot, only slightly shy of the recent record office rent of $327.50 per square foot at Soloviev Group’s 9 West 57th Street.

The 182,000-square-foot landmarked 2 Gansevoort underwent a $20 million renovation in 2015 led by Fogarty Finger, modernizing the lobby, systems and facade of the nine-story 1912 building. Other tenants include Theory and Uniqlo.
Moloco inked a deal last year to move its headquarters into larger offices in Menlo Park, taking space once occupied by Meta. The company, founded in 2013, helps advertisers use machine learning to better target and optimize their ad campaigns.