Race to Wall Street- OpenAI files confidentially for IPO on US stock market

OpenAI announced on Monday it has submitted a confidential S-1 filing for an initial public offering (IPO), marking its intent to go public as early as Q4 2026 with a valuation nearing $1 trillion. The company acknowledged the filing may leak and emphasized it has not yet decided on a definitive timeline, as some strategic moves are easier to execute as a private entity. OpenAI’s current private valuation stands at $852 billion, and it is collaborating with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to prepare for the process. The IPO would expose OpenAI’s financial health to public scrutiny, particularly its high operational costs. The company’s flagship product, ChatGPT, now has over 900 million active weekly users, but OpenAI has raised $180 billion in private funding while burning over $100 billion annually on computing and infrastructure. Internal projections suggest profitability will not be achieved before 2030, with plans to invest roughly $600 billion in computing and data centers by that time. OpenAI’s move follows Anthropic, maker of Claude, which filed confidentially at a $965 billion valuation, positioning OpenAI as the third major AI company racing toward public markets. Elon Musk’s SpaceX leads the pack with a $1.77 trillion valuation, set to begin trading on June 12, 2026, potentially raising $75 billion. OpenAI’s CFO, Sarah Friar, previously noted that adopting public-company practices is beneficial, though no specific IPO timeline was confirmed. The decision reflects broader industry trends as AI firms seek capital to fuel expansion amid fierce competition. OpenAI’s IPO plans, however, remain fluid, balancing the need for funding with the challenges of public accountability and investor expectations.