Recent reports indicate that several of the world's highest-valued tech startups are preparing for public listings, potentially ushering in a rare "IPO super cycle" by 2026. From artificial intelligence (AI) giants to space exploration company SpaceX, the public offering plans of these industry titans could set the stage for a capital feast involving both Silicon Valley and Wall Street.
According to media reports from Wednesday, Eastern Time, two AI stars, OpenAI and Anthropic, have both taken preliminary steps to prepare for listing, while Elon Musk's SpaceX has engaged in discussions with multiple banks to identify lead underwriters for its IPO. The report suggests that if these three companies proceed as planned, they could create the most significant year for public offerings in the history of the tech industry.
The mentioned companies—OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX—currently hold valuations at or near their historical peaks. Anthropic's ongoing funding discussions value it at $3500 billion, OpenAI was reportedly valued at approximately $5000 billion in October 2025, and SpaceX's latest valuation has reached $8000 billion. If all were to go public, they would rank among the highest-valued publicly listed companies in history, potentially even challenging Saudi Aramco, which debuted with a $1.7 trillion valuation in 2019.
Eddie Molloy, Co-Head of Global Equity Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley, commented, "We are entering a period where the scale of IPO transactions could be unprecedented. Given the size of these companies and investor interest, we believe these deals are executable."
This week's reports state that Anthropic and OpenAI are in the early stages of preparing for their public listings. Citing informed sources, the reports indicate that Anthropic hired the law firm Wilson Sonsini in December 2025 to assist with its initial listing preparations. Earlier reports this month had already mentioned Anthropic's engagement of this firm.
Throughout 2025, OpenAI focused on transitioning from a non-profit to a for-profit entity, a move widely seen as paving the way for an eventual IPO. In a December 2025 podcast interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated he was "not at all" excited about leading a public company but acknowledged that OpenAI needed to continuously raise more capital.
Reports earlier this month indicated that OpenAI is in discussions with several top law firms, including Cooley, regarding IPO preparation work but has not yet selected legal counsel. The report also mentioned that OpenAI is currently discussing a new funding round with investors, potentially valuing the company at $7500 billion or higher.
Anthropic is also engaged in negotiations for a new funding round, with investors anticipating its valuation will exceed $3000 billion. According to a disclosure by its CEO Dario Amodei in December 2025, the company achieved an annualized revenue run rate of $80 to $100 billion last year.
Among the three companies, SpaceX's preparation for a public listing appears the most concrete based on recent reports. The 24-year-old company has reportedly interviewed banking institutions and announced its IPO intentions to shareholders. SpaceX has emphasized the AI attributes of its business to investors, stating plans to use IPO proceeds to build AI data centers in space.
Reports from early this month indicated that SpaceX executives have informed investors in recent weeks that, barring significant market turbulence, the company plans to go public within the next 12 months. Ongoing secondary share transactions value SpaceX at $8000 billion.
A report from late last month stated that SpaceX is seeking to raise approximately $300 billion at a valuation of $1.5 trillion. Achieving these targets would surpass Saudi Aramco's $29 billion public offering in 2019, making it the largest IPO by funds raised in history. Based on current public company market capitalizations, such a valuation would also place SpaceX among the top ten most valuable companies in the US.
According to a recent statement by Elon Musk, SpaceX expects revenue of $15.5 billion this year, largely driven by its satellite internet business, Starlink. IPO proceeds are expected to help SpaceX achieve its ambitious goals, including launching Starship rockets to Mars.
The intensive preparation for listings by these companies is driven by massive capital requirements fueled by the AI boom. Media analysis points out that for over a decade, tech startups delayed IPOs as long as possible due to a continuous influx of new private capital into Silicon Valley's unicorns, providing an alternative to public markets. The AI boom has altered this strategy, partly because these companies require far more capital than previous generations of startups to cover costs for data centers and cloud computing.
OpenAI has raised over $600 billion, breaking private fundraising records. Anthropic has raised at least $400 billion and is negotiating an additional $100 billion in funding.
Wednesday's reports, citing informed sources, revealed that OpenAI achieved $13 billion in revenue last year and is projected to see that figure triple this year. However, the spending pace of these companies is equally staggering. According to the source, OpenAI plans to spend $1150 billion between 2025 and 2029. Entering public markets is a pathway to raising massive amounts of capital in a single event.
Jeff Richards, an investor at Notable Capital, stated, "There is a huge information gap right now. The biggest positive for the entire market would be a cohort of these companies going public so people can actually see the data."
Some investors and bankers are optimistic about these IPO prospects. Jeremy Abelson, an investor at venture firm Irving Investors, said, "In the past twenty years, I have never seen private companies of such significance and impact. They are not only larger and more relevant but are incredible companies with data we've never seen before."
However, other investors remain cautious. Paul Wick, who focuses on public market investments in tech companies at Seligman Investments and has three decades of experience, expressed that he is not particularly impressed by the business models of AI companies. He pointed out that Facebook and Google were "profit machines with massive growth and strong moats" before their 2004 IPOs, whereas AI companies appear to be incurring substantial losses while continuously needing to raise more capital. He remarked, "That doesn't fill me with confidence."
Wednesday's report suggested that IPOs by companies like OpenAI could generate huge profits for Silicon Valley and Wall Street. Public market investors have been eager to participate in the AI boom, and Wall Street banks could earn hundreds of millions of dollars facilitating these listings. David Bauer, Co-Head of Americas Equity Capital Markets at J.P. Morgan, noted that offerings of this scale would require coordinating "mutual funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds," and retail investors globally.
However, increased volatility, geopolitical risks, uncertainty surrounding US midterm elections, or simply the companies not being ready could delay their listings. After all, the IPO processes for Anthropic and OpenAI are reportedly still in very early stages.
A report from late last month suggested that besides OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX, other large private companies potentially targeting 2026 listings include data analytics firm Databricks, valued at $1340 billion, and design platform Canva, valued at $420 billion.
According to data from Renaissance Capital, US IPOs have been in a slump since the 2021 peak when 397 companies raised $1420 billion. Last year, 202 companies went public in the US, raising a combined $44 billion.
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