Hillsborough estate sells for $70M to AI industry buyer

OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs precede new class of regional buyers

A 12-acre Lake Como-inspired estate in Hillsborough sold for $70 million to a man in the artificial intelligence industry, in the highest-priced home sale in northern California this year. The transaction at 3000 Ralston Avenue more than doubled the previous record for the affluent San Francisco Bay Area town, listing agent Jennifer Gilson said.

The sale is the latest sign of a housing boom across Silicon Valley that brokers attribute to AI wealth. San Francisco-based artificial-intelligence companies OpenAI and Anthropic filed for initial public offerings earlier this summer, and an analysis by brokerage Compass described a market “increasingly segmented by income tier and proximity to AI-driven employment centers.”

Gilson, of Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty, said the buyer is a man in the AI industry and declined to provide additional identifying details. The property, known as “Villa de Verano,” was initially listed at $88 million and spent four months and 22 days on the market before the sale closed.

The 12,400-square-foot main residence has six bedrooms and includes a private gym, theater, spa and aquarium. The grounds feature a pool, a rose garden, an amphitheater, a separate guest house, and a sporting area fitted with seven courts and a putting green. Gilson said the property’s opulence stands out even among other palatial Hillsborough homes, which include Bing Crosby’s $25 million residence, Elon Musk’s $32 million former home, and the Levi Strauss-connected Koshland Estate, listed at $17.8 million.

Gilson called the sale a “stepping stone” into a market of homes catering to the extremely wealthy. “Even in the last year, there’s been a major increase of buyers from the AI world,” she said. “This could be just the beginning of the ultra luxury.”

Gilson said she has seen wealth flowing in not only from AI companies but increasingly from traditional industries as well, with a “definite increase” in ultra-rich buyers taking off-market, “hidden” opportunities that connect buyers and sellers without a home ever being publicly listed.

Compass’s analysis found that more than 140 San Francisco homes sold at least $1 million above their asking price in the first six months of 2026, describing a regional market increasingly shaped by income tier and proximity to AI-driven employment hubs.

Median prices for single-family homes in San Mateo County, where the sale took place, rose 8.5 percent between May 2025 and May 2026. In San Francisco County, the median climbed more than one-fifth, from $1.8 million to $2.2 million.