OpenAI has been laying the groundwork for an initial public offering (IPO) of up to $1 trillion, according to a Reuters report. This could be one of the biggest IPOs of all time.
The report mentions that the company is considering filing with securities regulators as soon as the second half of 2026. OpenAI has looked at raising $60 billion at the low end and likely more, during preliminary discussions.
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Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has told some associates the company is aiming for a 2027 listing, the people said. But some advisers predict it could come even sooner, around late 2026.
“An IPO is not our focus, so we could not possibly have set a date,” an OpenAI spokesperson said. “We are building a durable business and advancing our mission so everyone benefits from AGI.”
OpenAI said last month that it has reached a preliminary agreement with major investor Microsoft that could allow the startup to restructure and, eventually, go public. The deal seems to address the structural and competitive friction that has complicated the relationship between OpenAI and its largest investor, so that OpenAI can convert its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC).
OpenAI — which started out as a nonprofit in 2015 — revamped itself this week. It is still controlled by a nonprofit, now called the OpenAI Foundation, but the nonprofit has a 26% stake in OpenAI Group and a warrant to receive additional shares if the company hits certain milestones. This makes the nonprofit a significant stakeholder in OpenAI’s financial success.
A successful IPO would be a major win for investors including SoftBank, Thrive Capital and Abu Dhabi’s MGX. Microsoft, one of its biggest backers, now owns about 27% of the company after investing $13 billion.
This comes as AI is driving a surge in public markets. AI cloud company CoreWeave had gone public earlier this year, at a $23 billion valuation, and it has nearly tripled since. Meanwhile, Nvidia became the first company to reach $5 trillion in valuation.
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OpenAI’s IPO is expected to enable more efficient capital raising, and large acquisitions through public stock. This would help finance CEO Sam Altman’s plans to pour trillions of dollars into AI infrastructure, according to people familiar with the company’s thinking.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the possibility of OpenAI going public as early as 2027.