Silicon Valley startups need space. A lot of space.
As they rapidly hire workers, fueled by a flood of venture capital, startups in California's Bay Area will need about 8.6 million square feet of office space in the next six months, according to a projection by the research firm Mattermark.
To put that number in perspective, picture the two tallest buildings in the United States — One World Trade Center in New York and the Willis Tower in Chicago. Combined, the total rentable space in those buildings is about 6.8 million square feet.
Which wouldn't be enough to satisfy what Silicon Valley needs in the next six months.
A total of 961 startups in the region will be needing more space, according to Mattermark, which published its findings in a report on Thursday.
That's more than the 756 startups that are expected to need office space in New York. And it's more than double the 420 startups in Los Angeles that are projected to need more space.
The 8.6 million square feet needed in the Bay Area is more than double the 3.9 million square feet that New York startups will need.
That means the average Bay Area startup will need 8,998 square feet of space, compared with 5,208 square feet for the average startup in New York and 2,711 square feet for the average startup in Los Angeles.
The report, which seems tailored to appeal to real estate brokers, shows one real-life consequence of the current tech boom. With venture capital plentiful, new companies are quickly arising and existing ones are stepping on the gas pedal.
The trend suggests that the Bay Area's office market, already defined by its technology tenants, is set to become even more tech-heavy. And competition for leases and subleases will become even fiercer than it already is.