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OpenAI has officially entered the race for initial public offerings, after announcing that it had secretly submitted a draft application for listing to US regulators, in a move that paves the way for the ChatGPT developer to transition from a private company to a publicly traded company.
The company explained that the application was submitted via a confidential S-1 form, a procedure that allows companies to prepare and review their IPO prospectus with regulators before going public. OpenAI has not yet disclosed details of the offering, the number of shares to be issued, or the expected price range.
The announcement came in an unconventional manner, as the company indicated in a short blog post that it preferred to confirm the news itself after increasing leaks and speculation about its readiness to enter the financial markets, indicating that the IPO was already expected by investors and followers.
Although the company confirmed that the listing date is still not definitively set, reports circulating indicate that trading of the stock could begin next fall, perhaps in September if preparations go according to plan.
This move comes just one week after rival Anthropic announced a similar confidential filing, indicating that competition is intensifying among the largest AI companies not only in terms of technology, customers and talent, but also in the capital markets.
Media reports in May had revealed that OpenAI had already begun working with a number of major investment banks to prepare the prospectus, so the announcement was not so much a surprise as it was a confirmation of what the markets had been expecting for months.
The company also plans to conduct an internal share buyback program, allowing some employees and existing shareholders to sell a portion of their stake before the IPO. This move is common among fast-growing tech companies, providing liquidity for investors and employees without having to wait for a formal listing.
According to its latest funding round, OpenAI’s estimated market capitalization was around $852 billion after the investment, a figure that places the company among the world’s largest private technology companies and gives investors a starting point for estimating potential value when it begins trading on public markets.
This development comes at a time when markets are preparing to welcome a series of giant IPOs, most notably Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is targeting a valuation of nearly $1.75 trillion, in addition to the anticipated IPO of Anthropic.
With these massive offerings continuing, 2026 looks set to become one of the busiest years in the history of IPOs, as Wall Street prepares to welcome companies that have reshaped the future of artificial intelligence, space, and advanced technology.
