Adaptive Security, an AI cybersecurity startup backed by some of the biggest names in tech, is trading Flatiron views for a landmark tower downtown. The company is relocating its New York headquarters to the 12th floor of 120 Broadway in a sublease deal, expanding its Manhattan footprint after closing a sizable funding round late last year. The move is the latest sign that AI-focused firms are hunting for plug-and-play office space in the Financial District.
Downtown move for an AI defender
Adaptive Security is shifting its headquarters to Silverstein Properties' landmarked 120 Broadway, leaving the Flatiron neighborhood for the Financial District. CoStar reports that the company counts heavyweight investors including Nvidia and OpenAI among its backers, putting it squarely in the upper tier of New York's AI startup scene.
Sublease, space and funding behind the push
BarkBox is subleasing its roughly 51,220-square-foot office at 120 Broadway, and Adaptive Security has taken the building’s 12th floor as part of that deal, according to Commercial Observer. Savills represented Adaptive on the transaction while CBRE handled the landlord side. The move builds on a Series B round that closed late in 2025, and brokers told Commercial Observer the company has been scaling its New York footprint quickly, graduating from smaller suites to larger, full-floor setups in short order.
What Adaptive says and who’s backing it
On its own website, Adaptive lists 120 Broadway as its New York office and highlights Nvidia among its investors. The company says it has raised more than $145 million from top backers, per Adaptive. Founded in 2024 by Andrew Jones and Brian Long, the startup sells training and tools designed to help organizations defend against AI-enabled scams, including deepfakes and targeted phishing attacks.
Why brokers say AI tenants are winning downtown
"The Manhattan office market remains highly competitive, particularly for AI and technology tenants seeking move-in-ready space," Savills' Zev Holzman told Commercial Observer. He added that landing a large, modern office in this climate required a fair amount of creativity and market insight. The outlet notes that asking rents in Lower Manhattan have tightened and that landlords are increasingly vying for well-funded, fast-growing tech tenants like Adaptive.
The building and the landlord angle
120 Broadway, better known to many New Yorkers as the Equitable Building, sits in the heart of the Financial District and is part of Silverstein Properties' portfolio. That puts Adaptive within easy reach of major transit lines and a dense ecosystem of back-office services. CoStar characterizes the move as one piece of a broader pattern in which AI and growth-stage tech firms are expanding their office footprints across multiple Manhattan submarkets.
Hiring, footprint and what’s next
Adaptive’s careers and contact pages spotlight ongoing hiring and product expansion as the company scales, and the larger downtown office is expected to open up more room for engineering and operations staff. Local brokers say the deal is another sign that AI startups are graduating from small satellite suites into larger, amenity-ready floors in established New York towers, with FiDi quickly becoming one of their preferred hunting grounds.
