AI corporate bonds are booming

San Francisco is experiencing a housing boom unlike any in its history, driven not by traditional wealth but by the explosive rise of AI companies and their impending IPOs. As tech giants like NVIDIA, Alphabet, and Amazon raise hundreds of billions in capital to build AI infrastructure, a new form of currency has emerged: equity in AI startups. This liquidity is fueling a mansion deficit, where luxury homes in neighborhoods like Billionaire's Row are selling for $20 million, often with offers in shares of OpenAI or Anthropic. The city’s real estate market is now a battleground of speculative frenzy, where people are paying millions above asking prices just to secure a home before the IPO wave hits. Yet this wealth concentration is starkly contrasted by a contracting tech economy—40,000 jobs lost in three years—and a growing sense of precarity among even top-tier engineers who feel their careers may be obsolete. The episode captures a moment of profound economic duality: unprecedented capital inflows coexisting with deep anxiety, where the fear of missing out on AI wealth is reshaping not just markets, but the soul of a city. The broader economy reflects this tension. While big tech is flush with cash and aggressively borrowing, farmers in Washington state are struggling with drought, rising input costs, and the lowest farm profitability in the nation.