OpenAI Moves Toward a Possible IPO
OpenAI has confidentially submitted an S-1 registration statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission, giving the company the option to pursue an initial public offering after regulators review its financials. The filing follows a similar confidential submission by Anthropic and comes as SpaceX prepares for its own public-market debut.
OpenAI said it has not chosen a timeline and noted that some steps may be easier to complete while it remains private. The company’s latest reported valuation is $852 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable private firms. A person familiar with the matter said OpenAI also plans a tender offer that would allow employees to sell shares at that valuation, potentially easing liquidity concerns.
The filing comes during a period of intense competition and capital demand across the artificial intelligence sector. OpenAI, best known for ChatGPT, says the chatbot now has more than 900 million weekly active users. Its competitors include Anthropic, Google, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which merged with xAI earlier this year. Anthropic recently closed funding at a $965 billion valuation, surpassing OpenAI’s latest figure.
OpenAI has raised more than $180 billion but continues to spend heavily on computing capacity, infrastructure, and model development. Chief Executive Sam Altman recently described the company as entering a “third phase,” focused on making advanced AI widely available, useful, safe, and affordable. Internally, OpenAI has emphasized discipline, closed some smaller projects, and increased investment in enterprise products and its coding assistant, Codex.
The IPO preparations also follow a legal dispute between Musk and OpenAI. A jury found Musk waited too long to pursue claims related to OpenAI’s nonprofit origins. The outcome addressed timing, not the substance of his allegations. For investors, the focus would center on growth, expenses, competition, and financing needs of AI.