OpenAI is actively preparing the groundwork for an initial public offering (IPO) that could value the ChatGPT maker at up to US$1-trillion, positioning it as one of the largest IPOs in history. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that the company is considering a filing with securities regulators as soon as the second half of 2026.
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In preliminary discussions, the company has explored raising at least $60-billion, and likely more, though internal plans are still fluid. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has reportedly targeted a 2027 listing, while some advisors predict the offering could occur sooner, around late 2026, depending on business growth and market conditions.
An OpenAI spokesman stated that an IPO is not the current focus and that the company has “not set a date.” However, CEO Sam Altman recently addressed the topic during a livestream, confirming the likelihood of a public debut: “I think it’s fair to say it is the most likely path for us, given the capital needs that we’ll have.”
The IPO preparations signal a new urgency to tap public markets, especially following a complex restructuring that reduces OpenAI’s reliance on Microsoft. Going public would enable more efficient capital raising and facilitate large acquisitions using public stock. This move is crucial for financing Altman’s highly ambitious vision: pouring trillions of dollars into global AI infrastructure development.
Despite its expected annualized revenue run rate reaching about $20-billion by year-end, the company’s losses are also mounting due to the massive operational costs associated with AI development and deployment.
OpenAI has undergone several structural revamps since its inception as a nonprofit in 2015. Most recently, the company completed a complex restructuring that ensures the newly named OpenAI Foundation—the controlling nonprofit entity—holds a 26% stake in the for-profit OpenAI Group and warrants for additional shares upon achieving certain milestones. This change ties the nonprofit directly to the company’s financial success.
A successful offering would deliver a major return for prominent early investors, including SoftBank, Thrive Capital, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX. Microsoft, one of the company’s biggest backers, currently owns about 27% of the company following an investment of $13-billion.
The timing of OpenAI’s IPO deliberations coincides with a major surge in public market excitement around artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, AI cloud company CoreWeave went public with a $23-billion valuation and has since nearly tripled in value. Furthermore, the immense AI rally recently propelled Nvidia to become the first company to reach a $5-trillion market value, cementing AI’s central role in global finance and technology.
