OpenAI joins the IPO rush, but says going public can wait

The company that helped kick off the AI boom is taking its first step toward Wall Street. OpenAI has confidentially filed paperwork for an initial public offering, giving the company the option to go public after federal regulators review the filing.

The company announced the filing on Monday but made it clear that a stock market debut is not imminent.

Going public

In a post on its website, the company said, “We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company.”

It added, “but it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs, and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.”

The move marks the latest milestone for CEO Sam Altman’s company, which helped bring artificial intelligence into the mainstream with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.

It also gives those on Wall Street a peek into OpenAI’s finances. The company is now valued at more than $850 billion, making it among the most valuable private companies in the world. However, it has experienced pressure to prove it can generate the cash to match its value.

Amid that pressure, it has expanded monetization options for ChatGPT, including a cheaper plan and ads.

A race to go public

The decision to go public comes just a week after rival Anthropic filed confidentially for its IPO, setting up a race between two of the biggest names in AI.

The competition doesn’t stop there. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is also preparing to go public, with OpenAI, Anthropic and Google listed as AI competitors in its filing.

The three companies combined are expected to tally hundreds of billions of dollars in sales, marking an opportunity for everyday investors to buy into the startup firms.

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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief

Ella Greene

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