OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO on Monday, joining Anthropic and SpaceX in a three-way Wall Street race, as the $852 billion startup edges toward a public debut.
Key Points:
- OpenAI confidentially submitted a Form S-1 to U.S. regulators, a first formal step toward an IPO with no set timeline.
- The move follows Anthropic's Jun. 1 filing and lands days before SpaceX's planned Jun. 12 market debut.
- OpenAI carried an $852 billion valuation in March, while Anthropic later reached $965 billion after a $65 billion round.
OpenAI IPO Filing Confirmed
The San Francisco company announced the confidential Form S-1 with the SEC itself, saying it expected the news to leak before it could manage the timing. Leadership has set no schedule, noting that some goals stay easier to pursue while private. The filing still leaves room to list sooner if the moment turns favorable.
The step follows Anthropic's Jun. 1 confidential filing and arrives just days before SpaceX's planned Jun. 12 market debut.
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Why The OpenAI Listing Matters
Bankers have cast the timing as a contest, since the first to list could shape how investors value the broader AI field. OpenAI is targeting as much as $1 trillion, with a debut possible by September. Anthropic, by contrast, surpassed its rival this spring with a $965 billion valuation, the richest of any startup.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are steering the process, with a possible listing eyed for the fall. A tender offer is also in the works, letting current staff sell some shares.
Analysts see a delicate backdrop, and Nate Elliott of Emarketer called the moment precarious as OpenAI cedes some of ChatGPT's early lead to Google and Anthropic.
Chief executive Sam Altman has outlined a third phase for the firm, tying the listing to an economy reshaping around AI. The push also lands amid calls from Bernie Sanders and President Donald Trump to give the public a stake in AI's growth.
Chief financial officer Sarah Friar struck a cautious note this spring. She said the company already ran with the discipline of a public firm and wanted to be ready. Public markets, she added, dwarf private ones and bring tighter scrutiny once a company lists.
OpenAI's Long Road To Markets
The path here has been winding. OpenAI launched in 2015 as a nonprofit, converted into a public benefit corporation, beat co-founder Elon Musk in a jury trial last month, and pared its compute plans this year from $1.4 trillion to roughly $600 billion through 2030.
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