They made their fortunes in artificial intelligence.
asserted
They → make → intelligence
But that doesn’t mean they want a mansion filled with smart gadgets.
asserted
they → mean → gadgets
San Francisco’s newly minted AI millionaires are seeking warm woods, handmade furniture and wellness amenities, brokers and designers told The Post — with some even forgoing smart-home features in a stunning about-face.
asserted
some → mint → face
Their vision of a dream home puts natural materials, calm interiors and room to unplug high on the list.
asserted
vision → put → list
“Ten years ago, everybody wanted a wine cellar or a wine room,” Annie Williams, a veteran San Francisco broker with Sotheby’s International Realty, told The Post.
asserted
Williams → want → Post
“Everybody’s asking for, ‘Where can I put my sauna?’”
A ‘tsunami’ of AI money
The frenzy is unfolding amid what Williams, who has worked in San Francisco real estate for 25 years, called the hottest market she has ever seen.
“We took off in January and nobody seemed to see it coming,” she said.
asserted
she → ask → January
Williams said the phenomenon stretches beyond founders and employees at companies such as OpenAI.
asserted
phenomenon → say → OpenAI
Surging technology stocks have created a much broader “wealth effect” among investors, longtime tech workers and families whose portfolios are heavily exposed to AI-related companies.
asserted
portfolios → surge → companies
Lisa Smith, a founding agent at Serhant in San Francisco, said she began feeling the surge particularly strongly around May.
uncertain
she → found → May
Smith said AI buyers have also toured a $20 million off-market property she is marketing in Mill Valley, about 10 minutes from San Francisco.
asserted
she → say → Francisco
The remodeled historic home has five bedrooms and four bathrooms across roughly 3,800 square feet and sits on a half-acre lot within walking distance of downtown Mill Valley.
asserted
home → remodel → Valley
“Right now, I’m feeling a little bit like I’m in a tsunami,” Smith told The Post.
asserted
Smith → feel → Post
“The request of what they want right now is just outpacing what we can get them.
asserted
we → want → them
Once they find one, the new generation of tech wealth is putting its own stamp on luxury.
asserted
generation → find → luxury
Smith said wellness features — particularly saunas, cold plunges and red-light therapy — have become increasingly common requests.
asserted
features → say → ?
Just before speaking to The Post, she had toured a home where red-light therapy had been installed directly on the wall of the primary bedroom.
asserted
therapy → speak → bedroom
Jennifer Jones, principal designer at Niche Interiors, who is currently working with several AI-industry clients, said she is seeing the same shift from the other side of the transaction.
asserted
she → work → transaction
Clients who buy homes with wine rooms are increasingly asking her team to turn them into spas or saunas, she said.
asserted
she → buy → spas
Others want full gyms, plunge pools and even dedicated rooms for at-home massages.
asserted
Others → want → massages
Those amenities are increasingly showing up in homes drawing interest from the AI crowd, too.
asserted
amenities → show → crowd
One such property they can consider is att 827 North Point St. in Russian Hill — a three-bedroom condo asking $2.95 million, listed by Neal Ward and Neill Bassi of Sotheby’s International Realty.
asserted
they → consider → Realty
The 1,643-square-foot home has its own private wellness setup, with a sauna and cold plunge opening onto a private deck.
asserted
home → have → deck
Another penthouse, at 18 Lansing St. in Rincon Hill, takes the idea to the roof.
asserted
penthouse → take → roof
The $2.39 million, roughly 1,940-square-foot home, listed by Justin Goldberg of Compass, has more than 1,000 square feet of private outdoor space, including a rooftop sauna and hot tub, along with a fire pit and an upper observation deck with panoramic views of downtown San Francisco and the Bay.
asserted
home → list → Francisco
“Most buyers touring our penthouse work in AI or tech, with offices just a few blocks away,” Goldberg told The Post.
asserted
Goldberg → tour → Post
“With a significant IPO market anticipated in the coming months, buyers are looking to get ahead of the potential liquidity expected to enter the neighborhood in 2027.”
asserted
buyers → anticipate → 2027
Kavanagh, principal of Rogue Sauna, said he has installed high-end saunas for a number of Bay Area clients working in AI and tech.
asserted
he → say → AI
Residential projects can run from around $40,000 to $100,000, he said, with cold plunges often part of the setup.
asserted
plunges → run → setup
For clients who spend their working lives immersed in technology, Kavanagh said the appeal is often getting away from it.
asserted
appeal → spend → it
“The irony is that they want something to decompress from tech,” he said.
asserted
they → want → tech
“They want a break from technology.”
asserted
They → want → technology
A sauna, he added, is “one of the few places in the house that nobody checks email.”
asserted
nobody → add → email
The aesthetic beyond the sauna — and into the general design of the homes — has changed, too.
asserted
aesthetic → change → homes
Where previous generations of Silicon Valley wealth often gravitated toward shiny metals, crystal chandeliers, dark wallpapers and other conspicuous displays of luxury, many of today’s younger clients are asking for something softer.
asserted
many → gravitate → something
“Quiet” and “calm” are words Jones said she hears repeatedly.
asserted
she → say → ?
The look is heavy on warm woods, handmade pieces, organic shapes, textured fabrics, muted palettes and sculptural furniture — a kind of California modernism meets “quiet luxury.”
asserted
kind → meet → luxury
“They want light.
asserted
They → want → light
They want airy,” Jones said.
asserted
Jones → want → ?
“They do not want dark, moody rooms.”
And quiet luxury doesn’t mean quiet spending.
asserted
luxury → want → spending
Jones said AI clients have shelled out $150,000 for a custom glass-and-bronze chandelier and more than $100,000 for a hand-knotted silk-and-cashmere rug.
asserted
clients → say → rug
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
