According to the latest reports from The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI is targeting an IPO filing as soon as this week, representing a significant acceleration from previous timelines. The artificial intelligence company, which is valued at more than $730 billion in the private market after a recent funding round, is working with banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to prepare for the filing. As per CNBC, the company has been preparing to IPO as soon as the fourth quarter of this year, with CFO Sarah Friar previously stating it's "good hygiene" for a company of OpenAI's size to "look and feel and act" like a public company. OpenAI representative confirmed that "as part of normal governance, we regularly evaluate a range of strategic options," while maintaining focus on execution, and added that the company is "closely watching the stock market" with timing remaining in flux. According to The Information, executives had originally targeted a listing in the fourth quarter of this year or later, but a near-term IPO filing would likely move up the timing of the offering.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, investment banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are advising the company on the proposed listing. The Sam Altman-led company is reportedly working with these investment banks to finalize the IPO structure and prepare for the public market debut. The partnership with these established financial institutions reflects the significant scale and complexity of the planned offering, with CNBC confirming that Goldman Sachs will have the lead left position on the SpaceX prospectus, followed by Morgan Stanley, and then Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. According to The Information, CEO Sam Altman has specifically wanted his company to go public ahead of archrival Anthropic, adding urgency to the accelerated timeline.
The planned IPO comes as OpenAI faces intensifying competition from rivals, most notably Anthropic, which is currently in talks to raise money at a $900 billion valuation, which would push it ahead of OpenAI. According to CNBC, Anthropic has said it's topped $30 billion in annualized revenue and is winning in the enterprise and AI coding market. OpenAI has raised more than $180 billion from investors and continues to burn through cash at a historic pace, while the company's position as the creator of the popular ChatGPT platform has positioned it as a key player in the rapidly expanding generative AI market since its launch in 2022. The competitive landscape is further intensified by SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company, which has valued itself at more than $1 trillion and is preparing to reach the stock market as early as next month.
The IPO would represent a significant milestone for the AI sector, given the growing investor appetite for companies in the generative artificial intelligence space. As reported by CNBC, the confidential filing approach suggests OpenAI is taking a measured approach to its public market debut, potentially allowing the company to maintain some control over the timing and pricing of its offering while meeting regulatory requirements for public disclosure. If a filing comes soon, an IPO could take place as September, coinciding with what is set to be a lucrative string of tech company offerings. The timing would unleash a flood of generational wealth, creating the world's first trillionaires and cementing the riches of a set of Silicon Valley tech executives who are already billionaires, while also bringing a bonanza to AI company employees and Wall Street banks. OpenAI is racing against rival Anthropic to be the first startup of the current generative-AI boom to go public.
