OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, joining rival Anthropic in a push toward the stock market as investors seek exposure to the artificial intelligence boom. According to Reuters, the AI giant is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion in a stock market debut that could come as early as September. The company did not disclose the size or terms of the offering, stating that "it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company." At that valuation, OpenAI would set the stage for a trio of trillion-dollar-valuation companies debuting rapidly, which together are seen as the most consequential test of investor appetite for high-growth technology stocks in the last 10 years. Elon Musk's SpaceX was the first off the block, filing for an IPO that would rank as the largest in history if completed, with the company pursuing a $75 billion offering at a $1.75 trillion valuation.
AI firm Perplexity is maintaining its 2028 IPO target regardless of how the market receives the upcoming listings of Anthropic and OpenAI. According to reports from CNBC, CEO Aravind Srinivas stated that the company's timeline remains firm, emphasizing their focus on building a high-growth business. The CEO's latest comments suggest a more concrete timeline than previous statements, with Srinivas telling CNBC that "agnostic of these two companies, we were planning for something in 2028 so that still remains the case." The company is not facing financial issues and has no immediate plans for an earlier public offering. As reported by CNBC, Srinivas emphasized that "there will be ripple effects if they don't go well, like there is no sugar coating on that."
Srinivas acknowledged potential ripple effects from the upcoming AI IPOs, telling CNBC that the SpaceX IPO this week will definitely be a leading indicator of how Anthropic or OpenAI will perform. However, he expressed confidence in the AI industry's prospects, stating he thinks these IPOs will go well, because they're doing well. As reported by Reuters, Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko emphasized that by consistently holding 2028 as their earliest date for an IPO, Perplexity has been able to build a healthy, high-growth business. The timing coincides with significant AI sector activity, as OpenAI confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO on Monday, following Anthropic's filing last week. These listings, along with SpaceX this week, are going to be among the biggest in history and a test of investors' appetite for mega-IPOs. Srinivas noted that it's important for the AI industry that these IPOs go well, and expressed optimism about the sector's performance.
OpenAI has disclosed strong financial metrics, stating it was generating $2 billion in monthly revenue and growing roughly four times faster than companies that defined the internet and mobile eras, including Alphabet and Meta. This compares with about $1 billion in quarterly revenue at the end of 2024. The company told investors during its most recent fundraising round that it did not expect to be profitable until 2030. OpenAI earlier this year raised $110 billion at an $840 billion valuation from heavyweight 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. The IPO filing follows OpenAI renegotiating its partnership with Microsoft, which allowed the AI pioneer to forge new partnerships with firms such as Amazon.com and Alphabet's Google.
The clustering of confidential filings from major AI players creates a concentrated test of public-market appetite for AI valuations. Anthropic, the company behind the viral coding assistant Claude Code, said on June 1 it had confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, weeks after raising $65 billion in a funding round that valued it at $965 billion. According to Reuters, OpenAI is keeping options open as Anthropic edged ahead with its filing after a monster funding round. Anthropic has emerged as one of the biggest rivals, with soaring demand for its Claude AI from software developers to handle their computer programming, and some firms deploying its top-shelf model Mythos to unearth vulnerabilities in their code. The valuations of both Anthropic and OpenAI, known as frontier labs because their models are among the leading in the world, are under scrutiny from investors, with Srinivas noting that both companies deserve their high valuations because "they are on the frontier."
