OpenAI Confidentially Files For US IPO, Joining Anthropic And SpaceX In AI Market Debut Race

OpenAI has confidentially submitted its initial public offering (IPO) filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed on Monday, becoming the latest major artificial intelligence (AI) company to move toward a public market debut. The filing comes a week after rival Anthropic made a similar move and just days before Elon Musk's SpaceX is set to begin trading.

OpenAI has not disclosed the size, terms or timing of its offering, though the company is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion and could debut as early as the fourth quarter of this year. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are working with the company on the filing.

Three Trillion-Dollar AI Debuts In Quick Succession

The near-simultaneous push by SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI toward public markets marks an extraordinary moment for the technology industry. SpaceX kicked off its roadshow last week, pursuing a $75 billion offering at a $1.75 trillion valuation in what would be the largest IPO in history.

Anthropic filed confidentially on 1 June, weeks after closing a funding round that valued it at $965 billion. OpenAI's most recent valuation stands at around $852 billion following a March fundraise of $110 billion backed by SoftBank, Amazon and Nvidia. Together, the three listings represent the most significant test of investor appetite for high-growth technology stocks in a decade.

OpenAI's Business Today

ChatGPT now has more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers. The company said in March it was generating $2 billion in monthly revenue, growing roughly four times faster than companies that defined the internet and mobile eras.

OpenAI has also been renegotiating its partnership with Microsoft, one of its earliest backers, which invested $13 billion since 2019 and helped power growth at Azure. The revised terms have allowed OpenAI to forge new partnerships with Amazon and Google.

Despite the strong revenue trajectory, OpenAI told investors during its last fundraising round that it does not expect to turn profitable until 2030. The company continues to burn through cash as it builds computing infrastructure and trains new AI models. It also plans to facilitate a tender offer allowing employees to sell shares at the latest valuation.

Competition Is Intensifying

The AI sector that OpenAI helped create has grown crowded fast. Anthropic has emerged as one of the strongest rivals, with surging demand for its Claude AI among software developers. OpenAI is responding by doubling down on its enterprise business and its coding assistant Codex, which competes directly with Anthropic's Claude Code.

Bankers have flagged that the sheer scale of capital these companies are trying to raise could crowd out smaller IPOs and absorb liquidity that might otherwise flow to other deals.

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Legal Overhang Cleared

OpenAI's IPO path also cleared a significant legal hurdle in May when a US jury ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against the company. Musk had accused OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of straying from the company's original nonprofit mission. The verdict removed a key uncertainty that had been hanging over the listing plans.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit and created a for-profit arm four years later. In December 2024, it announced plans to restructure as a public benefit corporation to raise more capital and ease restrictions from its nonprofit parent.

Sources:

Reuters

CNBC