OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file a draft IPO prospectus as soon as Friday, according to a source familiar with the matter, in a step that could position the artificial intelligence company for one of the largest public listings on record. The company, valued by private investors at more than $850 billion, is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on preparations, CNBC reported.
OpenAI said in a statement that it regularly evaluates strategic options as part of normal governance and remains focused on execution. The banks declined to comment. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said last month that it is “good hygiene” for a company of OpenAI’s scale to operate with public-company discipline, while declining to give a timetable.
A confidential filing would not require OpenAI to immediately list shares, but it would begin a regulatory process that can allow companies to refine disclosures before a public launch. CNBC previously reported that OpenAI has been preparing for a potential IPO as early as the fourth quarter.
The move comes as SpaceX, which merged with xAI earlier this year, is also advancing toward a public offering. SpaceX reportedly filed confidentially with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month and could disclose its prospectus soon. Its valuation was most recently reported at $1.25 trillion.
The parallel IPO preparations add a financial dimension to the long-running dispute between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, an OpenAI co-founder and leader of xAI. Musk sued OpenAI, Altman and President Greg Brockman, alleging they abandoned the organization’s nonprofit commitments. A judge adopted an advisory jury’s finding Monday that Musk waited too long to sue.
OpenAI has raised more than $180 billion since ChatGPT’s 2022 launch, while spending heavily and facing growing competition from Anthropic in enterprise AI and coding tools. Investors are to scrutinize growth, costs, governance.