Tech company strikes deal to sublease empty South Bay office buildings

SANTA CLARA — A tech company has struck a deal to sublease two big chunks of South Bay office space from another tech company that had leased the sites years ago but never occupied them.

Zscaler, a cloud-based cybersecurity firm, has agreed to sublease two big office buildings on Great America Parkway in Santa Clara, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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Airbnb, a provider of an online marketplace for short- and long-term homestays and experiences, leased the buildings in 2020 but never occupied them and agreed to sublease the offices to Zscaler.

The buildings have addresses of 4301 and 4401 Great America Parkway.

Airbnb had leased the eye-catching office buildings at a time when government-ordered business lockdowns were taking hold due to the coronavirus.

Together, the two buildings total about 301,000 square feet. Each building totals about 150,000 square feet.

The Sobrato Organization, through an affiliate, owns the two buildings.

To be sure, the sublease deal offers a hopeful counterpoint to the dreary office market in the Bay Area, which is haunted by sky-high office vacancy levels, loan defaults and building foreclosures.

The deal might represent an expansion for Zscaler, which in 2019 leased 172,000 square feet a short distance away in north San Jose at 120 Holger Street. Zscaler has its headquarters at the Holger Street site.

Over the 12 months that ended in January 2025, Zscaler lost $15.5 million on revenue of $2.42 billion, according to the Yahoo Finance website.

Zscaler doesn’t expect to move into its new offices until sometime next year, the SEC filing showed.

“The term of the sublease commences on September 1, 2026 and terminates on April 30, 2032,” Zscaler stated in the SEC filing.