Inside OpenAI’s new Bellevue office: A hard-hitting statement about the impact of AI in the Seattle region
OpenAI officially opened its new engineering office in downtown Bellevue, Wash., on Thursday, unveiling a state-of-the-art, wood-paneled space for its 250 employees in the region — with enough space in the tower to accommodate up to 1,400 people.
It has become ChatGPT’s main office and Codex maker out of its San Francisco headquarters, and is a symbol of the AI industry’s impact on the Seattle area.
“This is a monumental day for OpenAI and Bellevue,” said Vijaye Raji, OpenAI’s CTO of applications, as he cut the ceremonial ribbon with Bellevue Mayor Mo Malakoutian.
The office places OpenAI next to two of its biggest investors and partners: Microsoft in nearby Redmond and Amazon in Bellevue and Seattle. The opening comes less than a week after Amazon announced a $50 billion investment in the company.
It marks the latest milestone in OpenAI’s rapid expansion. The company first came to Bellevue in 2024, looking to tap into the engineering talent pool. Last month, OpenAI moved up, signing a lease to expand its space by nearly 300,000 square feet in City Center Plaza.
OpenAI currently occupies two floors with the potential to add 10 more as it grows.
The Bellevue office includes teams working on infrastructure, ChatGPT, research, and marketing, in addition to partnerships, the first sign of its expansion beyond engineering.
Statsig, the Bellevue startup Raji founded in 2021, forms the core of the new office. OpenAI acquired the company for $1.1 billion last year, bringing in Raji as a key technology leader.
The space is built around a sweeping central staircase that connects the two contemporary floors, as well as lounge-like common areas designed for informal gatherings, including a library (yes, there are a few books) and a game room. Those were deliberate decisions to encourage the kinds of connections that work can’t replicate, Raji said in an interview at the event.
Malakoutian, the mayor of Bellevue, called the opening a “vote of confidence” in the city, which has favored AI companies as part of an economic development drive.
In a recent interview with GeekWire, Malakoutian said companies are attracted by predictable permits, modern infrastructure, and quality of life, which give them a competitive edge in hiring. A light rail line connecting the Eastside to Seattle across Lake Washington opens this month.
Elon Musk’s xAI is creating an engineering center just a short walk away. Cloud infrastructure and AI company Crusoe opened a Bellevue office last year. Companies including Snap, Anduril, Shopify, Snowflake, Uber, and Databricks have signed new or extended leases in the city.
Gov. Bob Ferguson, appearing in a video recording, noted that the region ranks among the top in the country for AI talent, saying it is “very well positioned to be a world center for AI.”
Matt McIlwain, managing director at Madrona Venture Group, an early investor in Statsig, called the new office a “virtuous cycle” of local founders building startups that attract big employers. He credited Raji with pushing to build a critical mass of OpenAI in Bellevue, which has been “far ahead” of Seattle in dating technology companies.
But given the ongoing tax debates in the state, where McIlwain and others in the tech community have been vocal, he questioned whether lawmakers appreciate the power.
“People in Olympia don’t really understand what a flywheel is,” he said.
For Raji, the opening is the latest chapter in a larger story. This region has been his home for 23 years, ever since Microsoft hired him locally. He later joined Facebook’s Seattle office and helped it grow locally from a handful of employees to 5,000 as its regional leader.
In that way, the extension of OpenAI is part of a common pattern.
“You can see the succession,” Raji said, praising the region’s talent pool and growth. “So it’s only natural that now, with all the investment in AI, this area is back in the center.”
