OpenAI has confidentially filed for an initial public offering with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, setting the stage for a potential stock market debut and intensifying competition with rival Anthropic, which filed for an IPO a little more than a week earlier.
The company disclosed the move in a blog post on Monday.
OpenAI, which was most recently valued at $852 billion post-money, submitted a draft registration statement but did not provide details on pricing, timing or fundraising targets.
“We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company,” OpenAI wrote.
“But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.”
The company said it published the announcement because it expected news of the filing to leak.
Public market race heats up
The filing adds to expectations that 2026 could be a busy year for major technology listings.
Alongside OpenAI and Anthropic, SpaceX is also widely expected to go public. SpaceX has been valued at around $1.75 trillion.
OpenAI’s move comes despite concerns over the company’s spending and growth projections.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI recently missed internal targets for new users and revenue. The newspaper also reported that chief financial officer Sarah Friar had raised concerns about whether the company could sustain its heavy investment in data centers.
Spending plans remain massive
OpenAI raised $122 billion in March in what was described as the largest funding round in Silicon Valley history.
Of that amount:
- $3 billion came from retail investors through bank channels.
According to The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI expects:
- AI computing costs to reach roughly $122 billion in 2028.
- Total losses of about $85 billion that year.
- Revenue to double from the previous year.
Secondary markets offer clues
Although OpenAI has not disclosed an IPO valuation, secondary market activity has provided indications of investor demand.
According to the article:
- OpenAI was valued at about $880 billion in April.
- Anthropic recently reached a $1 trillion valuation on Forge Global.
- Anthropic’s valuation has risen 123% this year.
- OpenAI’s valuation has increased 11.3%.
David Shapiro, founder and CEO of OpenVC, said investor demand for OpenAI shares remains strong.
“From a secondary investor standpoint, OpenAI had already grown into a significant portion of its valuation,” Shapiro told TechCrunch.
“We haven’t seen OpenAI crater or anything close, and the valuation is still enormously successful, according to the index.”
He added that OpenAI shares had “experienced a slight pop over the last few days,” suggesting investors may view OpenAI and Anthropic as “dual winners” in the large language model market.
Anthropic’s IPO could influence pricing
A recent PitchBook report said Anthropic’s IPO disclosures could affect how OpenAI prices its own offering.
According to the report, a conservative valuation from Anthropic could make it harder for OpenAI to achieve its desired pricing.
Experts cited in the article also said companies that list first could attract a larger share of investor capital, which has become increasingly competitive in the AI sector.
Company growth and governance challenges
Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, OpenAI gained prominence after launching ChatGPT in 2022.
The company said it now has about 900 million weekly active users and has expanded its products to serve enterprise and government customers.
OpenAI has also faced a series of internal and legal challenges.
In 2023, the board removed chief executive Sam Altman, citing concerns about transparency and his commitment to the company’s mission. Altman was later reinstated, and board members involved in the decision, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever, subsequently left the company.
More recently, OpenAI has faced several lawsuits.
These include:
- A lawsuit filed by the state of Florida accusing OpenAI and Altman of harming children by providing information to school shooters, offering guidance on self-harm and fostering addiction among young users.
- A lawsuit from Elon Musk, who alleged OpenAI had broken promises to remain a nonprofit.
That case was dismissed after a judge and jury concluded Musk had filed beyond the statute of limitations.
OpenAI has also faced criticism over political donations made by president Greg Brockman and his wife.
According to the article, each donated:
- $12.5 million to Leading the Future, a pro-AI political action committee.
- Additional funds to MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC.
OpenAI said the donations were personal and not made on behalf of the company.
TL;DR
OpenAI has confidentially filed for an IPO, shortly after rival Anthropic made a similar move. The ChatGPT maker has not set a timetable for going public and continues to face questions over spending, governance and legal challenges.
AI summary
- OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC.
- Rival Anthropic filed for a public offering earlier.
- OpenAI was last valued at $852 billion.
- The company expects heavy AI spending to continue in coming years.
- OpenAI faces ongoing governance and legal issues.
