OpenAI aiming for speedy IPO, source says, as market awaits SpaceX filing
By Echo Wang and Utkarsh Shetti
May 20 – OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file for a U.S. initial public offering in the coming weeks, a source familiar with the matter said Wednesday, adding to a wave of blockbuster listings expected next year.
The ChatGPT maker’s plan, last valued at $852 billion, comes two days after fending off an existential court challenge from Elon Musk and threatens to overshadow SpaceX’s expected IPO filing later in the day.
“Resolving this regulatory obligation removed a major hurdle to an IPO and likely gave OpenAI the confidence to accelerate the timeline,” said IPOX Vice President Kat Liu. he said.
OpenAI aims to go public in early September and is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on a draft IPO prospectus that it plans to file with regulators soon, according to two sources.
Liu said the timing of the filing close to SpaceX’s IPO avoids some of OpenAI’s scrutiny and allows the company to tell its own story. “Simultaneous applications force portfolio managers to evaluate both companies side by side.”
OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the AI company’s plans earlier in the day.
The Sam Altman-led company was laying the groundwork to go public with an IPO that could be valued at up to $1 trillion, with a goal of raising at least $60 billion in preliminary talks, Reuters reported in October.
Revolutionary use cases for AI have sparked an investor frenzy over names that are believed to emerge as winners as the technology is adopted more widely.
OpenAI, which pioneered the widespread consumer adoption of generative artificial intelligence models, raised $122 billion at the beginning of this year, arguably Silicon Valley’s largest financing round to date.
But in recent months, it has revised its product roadmap twice as it grapples with fierce competition from rivals, first from Google and then from Anthropic.
Consolidating its leadership in the enterprise AI market, Anthropic is expected by some industry observers to surpass OpenAI’s revenue growth in the coming months.
ChatGPT serves more than 900 million weekly active users and has surpassed 50 million consumer subscribers, OpenAI said earlier this year.
This article has been generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to the text.
