OpenAI has confidentially filed paperwork for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), becoming the latest artificial intelligence giant to pursue a stock market listing. While the company has not disclosed the size or timing of the offering, reports suggest a public debut could come as early as September 2026 and potentially value the ChatGPT maker at up to $1 trillion.
The filing follows a similar move by rival AI company Anthropic, which submitted confidential IPO documents earlier this month, setting up what analysts view as a race to define the next phase of the AI industry’s growth through public markets.
OpenAI said it has submitted a confidential draft registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), though it has not yet announced the number of shares to be offered or the expected price range.
The move comes as OpenAI continues to experience rapid growth driven by ChatGPT’s global adoption, reportedly reaching more than 900 million weekly users. However, the company is still investing heavily in infrastructure and AI development and is not expected to achieve profitability before 2030.
Analysts view the IPO as a watershed moment for the AI sector, with OpenAI, Anthropic and other high-profile AI firms increasingly turning to public markets to fund the enormous computing costs associated with developing advanced AI systems.
