By Kashmira Konduparty
OpenAI has confidentially filed paperwork for a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), positioning the ChatGPT maker to become one of the most closely watched stock market debuts in recent years as investors continue to pour money into artificial intelligence companies, according to a report by Reuters.
The announcement comes days after rival Anthropic disclosed a similar filing, signaling a broader shift among leading AI firms toward public markets.
OpenAI said Monday that it recently submitted a confidential draft registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but did not disclose the size, timing or terms of the proposed offering. The company said a final decision on the IPO timetable has not yet been made.
Reuters previously reported that OpenAI could seek a valuation of up to $1 trillion and may pursue a stock market debut as early as September. If achieved, the offering would rank among the largest and most valuable technology IPOs ever completed.
READ: Sam Altman says Elon Musk wanted to pass OpenAI to his children (May 13, 2026)
The filing comes amid surging investor interest in artificial intelligence, a sector that has attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in investment as companies race to develop increasingly powerful AI systems. OpenAI has emerged as one of the industry’s dominant players following the success of ChatGPT, which helped bring generative AI into the mainstream. The company reportedly serves more than 900 million weekly active users and generates approximately $2 billion in monthly revenue.
OpenAI joins a growing list of high-profile AI companies seeking access to public capital markets. Anthropic, developer of the Claude chatbot, recently filed confidentially for its own IPO after securing a funding round that valued the company at roughly $965 billion. Meanwhile SpaceX is also pursuing a public offering that could value the company at around $1.75 trillion.
The move marks another milestone in OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit research organization into one of the world’s most valuable technology companies. The company’s restructuring efforts and commercial expansion have drawn scrutiny in recent years, including legal challenges from co-founder Elon Musk, who argued that OpenAI had departed from its original mission. A recent court victory removed a significant legal obstacle as the company prepared for a potential public listing.
READ: SpaceX IPO hype meets investor caution (June 8, 2026)
Despite its rapid growth, OpenAI has acknowledged that profitability remains years away. The company has invested heavily in computing infrastructure, research and product development while expanding partnerships with major technology firms including Microsoft.
For now, OpenAI says it remains focused on building new products and capabilities. However, its confidential filing signals that the race among AI leaders is increasingly extending beyond technological competition and into the public markets, where investors are eager to gain exposure to one of the fastest-growing sectors in technology.