OpenAI Files for US IPO as AI Giants Race Toward Public Markets
Synopsis
OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO, joining Anthropic and SpaceX as major AI-driven companies move toward public markets. Reuters previously reported OpenAI could seek a valuation of up to $1 trillion. The company has more than 900 million weekly ChatGPT users, over 50 million subscribers and generates around $2 billion in monthly revenue. The filing follows changes to OpenAI's Microsoft partnership and comes after a U.S. jury rejected Elon Musk's lawsuit. Investors are closely watching what could become one of the biggest technology IPO waves in years.
NOpenAI Files for US IPO
OpenAI has privately registered for a potential U.S. initial public offering (IPO), competing with rival Anthropic to be the first company to test investor demand for artificial intelligence stocks since overall interest in AI has exploded.
The parent company of ChatGPT did not reveal how big the offering will be, nor a timetable in which it may list. Its board has yet to determine when it will list, the company said, while adding that some of its future plans may be more straightforward as a private entity. OpenAI has long been courting a valuation of up to $1 trillion in an anticipated stock market debut. The company could go public as early as September.
Public Listing: The Race of AI Giants
The OpenAI filing follows closely behind the recent news of Anthropic–the company that provides Claude AI filing for its own U.S. IPO, albeit a confidential one. Anthropic was recently funded at a $965 billion valuation.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is working on a $75 billion IPO that would have an estimated market cap of $1.75 trillion. All in, OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX could become one of the most important hours for investor desire to back extremely fast technologies since 2010.
Investors Fund OpenAI's Rapid Growth
OpenAI, earlier in the year, secured $110 billion at an $840 billion valuation from top investors such as SoftBank, Amazon and Nvidia.
As a LLM company with over 900 million weekly active users and more than 50 million paying subscribers, stated in March that monthly revenue had reached $2 billion, compared with roughly $1 billion a quarter as of the end of 2024.
And while OpenAI is exploding in growth, it has informed investors that it wouldn't be profitable until 2030. The competition is also heating up as Anthropic has been gaining significant traction with its Claude AI products and new advanced models like Mythos.
Microsoft Partnership and Legal Challenges
An OpenAI IPO filing comes after its ties with Microsoft, which invested some $13 billion in the ChatGPT developer. The updated partnership gives OpenAI more freedom to partner with companies like Amazon and Google.
The company has also been restructuring the business model. OpenAI started as a nonprofit research institution, but then spun up a for-profit arm to subsidise the ever-rising costs of building AI. It said at the end of 2026 that it was planning to set up a public benefit corporation in an effort to bring in additional funds.
Elon Musk slammed the restructure and took OpenAI, along with CEO Sam Altman to court. A U.S. jury cleared Musk in May of the lawsuit and that freed up this significant legal roadblock to the company's stock market debut.
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