The Commerce Department is reportedly planning to establish a new national center for artificial intelligence in San Francisco, according to Bloomberg.
The facility would open in the midst of the nation’s AI epicenter, where industry pioneers like OpenAI and Anthropic are headquartered, potentially capitalizing on access and proximity to key AI executives and researchers amid competition with other nations.
The exact location and timing of the center isn’t clear, nor how many jobs would be created. The Trump administration didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development didn’t immediately have information.
A new center would be a rare example of the federal government expanding in the city, following widespread layoffs during Trump’s first year in office. Federal officials also previously moved to sell two large government buildings in the Civic Center area before abruptly canceling the sales plans, along with hundreds of others, last March.
Fannie Mae, which is overseen by the federal government, also said last month it was moving its San Francisco office to Birmingham.
Trump has increasingly made the AI sector a cornerstone of his economic policy, appearing regularly with Bay Area tech leaders including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Trump has touted AI data center deals amid competition with China over chips and a struggle to dominate the booming sector.
AI companies were the key reason for San Francisco’s office market improving last year, with vacancy falling around 3 percentage points. Tech companies including Sierra AI and Databricks signed major leases last year.
This article originally published at U.S. Commerce Department reportedly plans a San Francisco AI hub.