Sapien AI Signs 11K-SF Lease at Kaufman’s 48 West 25th Street

A bipedal artificial intelligence firm is evolving into a new Midtown South office, Commercial Observer has learned.

Financial and operations analytics firm Sapien AI signed a lease for approximately 10,500 square feet on the entire fifth floor of the Kaufman Organization’s newly acquired 48 West 25th Street, according to tenant broker Nomad Group.

The deal represents a relocation for the AI firm from its previous offices a few blocks south at 184 Fifth Avenue. Both offices are within a block of Madison Square Park.

Nomad did not immediately disclose the length of the lease but said that asking rent was in the $80s per square foot range.

“New York’s AI sector continues to expand, and Sapien is exactly the type of forward-thinking company we’re excited to work alongside,” Nomad’s Matthew DeRose, who represented the tenant alongside Calvin Bruwelheide, said in a statement. “The space gives Sapien a full-floor headquarters in the heart of NoMad that matches the energy, creativity and momentum of its growing team.”

The Kaufman Organization’s Grant Greenspan represented the landlord.

Kaufman went into contract to buy the property as well as 24-28 West 25th Street, both located between Broadway and Avenue of the Americas, from Savanna for $125 million in June.

One of the more recent tenants to sign a deal in the building before the sale was MediaCo Holding, parent company of radio stations HOT 97 and WBLS, which took a 16-year lease for 25,000 square feet in 2023.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.