Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI powerhouse with a valuation close to $1 trillion, announced it is leasing a 16-story office building in Hudson Square and doubling its New York City workforce this year to about 1,000 employees. City Comptroller Mark Levine welcomed the news, noting he has warned about AI's disruptive impact but prefers the tools be built in New York. OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, leased office space in SoHo two years ago. Julie Samuels of Tech:NYC said AI and tech firms are primary drivers of the city's economy. Anthropic's announcement included supportive statements from Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration and from Gov. Kathy Hochul, who created the FutureWorks commission to navigate AI's impact on the workforce. However, Albany lawmakers recently passed a one-year moratorium on large data centers as Anthropic plans a data center upstate, and Hochul has not yet acted on the bill. Mayor Mamdani said the expansion helps counter the narrative that his policies are driving away businesses.