OpenAI Files for IPO Amid AI Sector Surge

OpenAI has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), joining rival Anthropic as artificial intelligence companies rush to capitalize on investor interest in the booming sector. According to multiple reports, OpenAI did not disclose the size or terms of the offering and indicated that a timeline has not yet been determined.

The company stated that it may take some time due to certain advantages of remaining private, but filing gives them the option to go public sooner if necessary. Reuters reported that OpenAI is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion in a stock market debut that could come as early as September.

OpenAI's IPO would set the stage for a trio of trillion-dollar companies to debut rapidly and is seen as the most consequential test of investor appetite for high-growth technology stocks in recent years. SpaceX, valued at $1.75 trillion, was the first off the block with its own IPO filing.

The IPO filing comes after OpenAI raised $110 billion at an $840 billion valuation from backers including SoftBank, Amazon, and Nvidia. The company also disclosed that ChatGPT has more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers.

OpenAI's filing follows the renegotiation of its partnership with Microsoft, one of its earliest investors. In March, OpenAI said 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.

SpaceX executives say the company is aiming to launch initial demonstrations of space-based artificial intelligence computing infrastructure by late 2027, ahead of the 'as early as 2028' timeline for deployment disclosed in its IPO filing. The orbital-compute effort is central to SpaceX's long-term growth pitch to investors. The company claims in its IPO documents that it is 'the only company with a commercially viable path to building orbital AI compute at scale.'

SpaceX has requested permission from regulators to launch up to 1 million space-based data-center satellites. During investor presentations ahead of the IPO, SpaceX executives outlined a roadmap to begin demonstrating orbital-compute capabilities in 2027. The initial deployments are described as demonstrator systems intended to validate the technology before any broader commercial rollout.

SpaceX stock is scheduled to begin trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SPCX, with the IPO price targeted at $135 per share. Starship, the fully reusable rocket that underpins the company's plans for orbital computing, remains years behind SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's original targets and has yet to demonstrate the rapid reusability needed to make large-scale deployment economically viable.

Investors are divided on SpaceX's valuation, with some praising Musk's track record while others express concerns about its high price tag and unproven AI business. Tesla trades at a significantly lower multiple of 16.73 times its 2025 sales, highlighting the premium investors are willing to pay for Musk-led companies.