Rippling, a San Francisco-based payroll and human resources tech startup, has signed a lease to quadruple its footprint in downtown San Francisco, prompting some to celebrate the positive news after recent retailer exits.
The company leased nine floors of the building located at 430 California St. and plans to move into the new space in June, according to SF Gate, a local online news site.
The 123,000-square-foot lease is four times its current office space, Rippling reported on X April 4.
“San Francisco will always be home, and 430 California is an ideal location for our expansion,” Rippling senior vice president of HR and client services Darcy Mackay said in a statement.
The company, which sells a workforce management platform that includes payroll and IT tracking, has about 500 local employees and plans to add more, according to the news site.
Rippling thanked the city’s mayor in the post.
“We’ve signed a new lease in San Francisco that will enable us to keep building and growing in one of the world’s best cities for innovation. Thanks to Mayor [London Breed] for the support!” the company wrote.
Ms. Breed celebrated the news on X.
“We are thrilled [Rippling] not only decided to stay in San Francisco, but they are expanding by 4x in Downtown SF,” the mayor wrote April 3. “We are building a stronger, more resilient city and continuing to lead the country in innovation [and] tech.”
Technology companies are a bright spot in San Francisco’s downward spiral that has seen numerous retail giants flee the city in recent months.
Overall, businesses were continued to vacate office buildings in the city at a record rate last year, according to the international commercial real estate firm CBRE Group. The city reached an all-time record office vacancy rate of 36.7 percent in the first three months of 2024—up from 35.6 percent at the end of December 2023, CBRE reported.
The emerging artificial intelligence sector, however, continues to drive demand. In 2023, the AI industry accounted for nearly 30 percent of total leasing activity, according to CBRE.
San Francisco and San Mateo counties had five of the largest commercial real estate transactions that reached the top 100 in the United States last year, CBRE reported in February.
Overall, technology firms were responsible for nearly 90 percent of the top leases in San Francisco, according to the company.
