Sam Altman’s OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file a draft prospectus for an initial public offering as soon as Friday, according to reports citing people familiar with the matter. The move would place the ChatGPT maker among several large technology companies preparing for public listings in 2026.
The company is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on the planned filing. A public debut could take place later this year, though the schedule may change because the process is still private and subject to market conditions, regulatory review and internal planning.
OpenAI is valued at more than $850 billion by private investors, according to the reports. A listing at or near that level would make it one of the largest technology IPOs ever and would give public investors direct exposure to one of the main companies behind the artificial intelligence boom.
OpenAI IPO Filing Could Come This Week
The confidential filing would allow OpenAI to begin the SEC review process without immediately making its full financial details public. Companies often use confidential filings to prepare for an IPO while assessing investor demand and market conditions.
An OpenAI representative said the company regularly evaluates strategic options as part of normal governance and that its focus remains on execution. The company did not confirm a specific IPO date.
OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar previously said it was good practice for a company of OpenAI’s size to operate with the discipline expected of public companies. She did not give a firm timeline for a listing.
The expected filing comes as OpenAI continues to raise large amounts of capital to support model development, computing capacity and data center needs. The company has raised more than $180 billion from investors, according to CNBC, while continuing to spend heavily on infrastructure.
Legal Ruling Removes One Barrier
The IPO preparations come shortly after OpenAI won a court decision in a case brought by Elon Musk. Musk sued OpenAI, Chief Executive Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, alleging that the company moved away from its original nonprofit mission.
An advisory jury in Oakland, California, found that Musk waited too long to bring the claims. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers adopted the verdict. Musk criticized the decision on X and said he plans to appeal to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Microsoft, which had faced an aiding-and-abetting claim in the case, was also cleared of liability. The ruling reduces one legal issue around OpenAI as the company prepares for possible public market scrutiny.
OpenAI has grown quickly since launching ChatGPT in 2022. The product helped expand public use of generative AI and pushed major technology companies to increase spending on artificial intelligence tools, chips and cloud infrastructure.
SpaceX and Anthropic Add IPO Pressure
OpenAI’s IPO planning comes as SpaceX and Anthropic are also preparing for potential public listings. SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, is expected to disclose its IPO prospectus soon, with Goldman Sachs in the lead left role and Morgan Stanley among the top banks.
SpaceX is reportedly targeting a Nasdaq listing under the ticker SPCX. Reports have said the company could seek a valuation between $1.75 trillion and $2 trillion, with a large capital raise tied to Starlink, launch services, and its merger with xAI.
Anthropic, the maker of Claude, is also being watched as a possible IPO candidate. The company has been linked to a potential public debut later in 2026 and is reportedly seeking funding at a valuation that could approach $900 billion.
Source: X
However, prediction market activity also showed traders assigning stronger odds to OpenAI reaching the public market before Anthropic. According to Coinbase data shared on May 20, the reported OpenAI IPO filing news pushed the market-implied chance of OpenAI listing before Anthropic to 85%, while Anthropic’s odds fell to 28%.
