OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, placing the ChatGPT maker in line with rival Anthropic as major artificial intelligence companies prepare for a new phase in public markets.
OpenAI said Monday it had recently “confidentially filed” for a U.S. IPO, joining Anthropic in a “push toward the stock market” as investors seek exposure to the artificial intelligence boom.
The company did not disclose the size or terms of the planned offering. They said the timeline has not yet been determined and added that “it may be a while” because some things may be easier to do while it remains private.
The move could mark one of the most closely watched technology listings in years, as OpenAI has become one of the central companies driving the global AI race through ChatGPT and its broader AI model business.
Valuation could reach $1 trillion
The possible listing may come with an extraordinary valuation.
Reuters reported that OpenAI is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion in a stock market debut that could come as early as September, according to a source.
At that level, OpenAI would enter public markets as one of the most valuable technology companies in history. Such a valuation would set the stage for a group of trillion-dollar private companies testing investor appetite for high-growth technology stocks.
The AI IPO wave is not limited to OpenAI. SpaceX is pursuing a $75 billion offering at a $1.75 trillion valuation, while Anthropic said on June 1 that it had confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO after raising $65 billion in a funding round that valued it at $965 billion.
Anthropic and SpaceX intensify investor competition
OpenAI’s filing follows Anthropic’s own move toward the public market, which has placed pressure on other high-profile AI and technology companies to position themselves before investor capital becomes more selective.
Michael Ashley Schulman, a partner at Cerity Partners, shared that OpenAI is keeping options open as Anthropic moved ahead with its filing after a major funding round.
Investor attention is now concentrated on whether the public market can absorb several enormous technology offerings at once. Global IPOs had raised $87.5 billion through May 26, the highest level since 2021.
However, large deals could also affect smaller offerings. Gil Luria, managing director of D.A. Davidson, said that OpenAI would not want public market capital to “exhaust itself,” especially with SpaceX and Anthropic already ahead in the IPO line.
Revenue growth strengthens OpenAI’s public market case
OpenAI is entering the IPO conversation with massive user reach and fast-growing revenue.
U.S. News reported that OpenAI said earlier this year it was raising $110 billion at an $840 billion valuation from major backers including SoftBank, Amazon, and Nvidia.
The company also disclosed that ChatGPT had more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers.
OpenAI’s revenue has also accelerated sharply. The company said in March it was generating $2 billion in monthly revenue, compared with about $1 billion in quarterly revenue at the end of 2024.
Still, profitability may remain distant. OpenAI told investors during its most recent fundraising round that it did not expect to be profitable until 2030.
Legal hurdle from Musk lawsuit fades
OpenAI’s IPO filing also follows a major legal development involving Elon Musk.
U.S. jury in May ruled against Musk in his lawsuit, finding OpenAI not liable to the world’s richest person for allegedly straying from its original mission to benefit humanity.
The unanimous verdict removed a key overhang on OpenAI’s IPO plans, with analysts saying it cleared a major legal hurdle.
For OpenAI, the filing signals a major shift from its nonprofit research origins toward becoming a public market giant. For investors, it sets up a defining question for the AI era: whether the companies leading the artificial intelligence boom can turn rapid adoption, massive funding, and huge valuations into sustainable public market performance.
