MW OpenAI could steal SpaceX IPO's thunder, with Sam Altman filing as soon as Friday
By William Gavin
The artificial-intelligence lab still needs to clear some 'hurdles' to reassure investors that recent revenue and legal issues have been resolved
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, fresh off a legal victory against Elon Musk, is reportedly gearing his company up for an initial public offering.
OpenAI reportedly plans to soon file for an initial public offering, setting the stage for at least two of the world's most valuable companies to go public in 2026.
The company behind ChatGPT has been working with bankers to confidentially file its paperwork as early as Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The goal for the company would be to go public as soon as September, according to the report.
That would give the artificial-intelligence lab time to work out a series of kinks and separate its public debut from that of Elon Musk's SpaceX, which could formally file its IPO paperwork as soon as this week. SpaceX is seeking to raise as much as $80 billion in its IPO, an unprecedented amount.
OpenAI has been working with Goldman Sachs $(GS)$ and Morgan Stanley $(MS)$ on its IPO, according to the Wall Street Journal. Both banks have also reportedly been given lead roles in SpaceX's public offering.
"Am I excited to be a public-company CEO? Zero percent," Altman said in December on the "Big Technology Podcast." "Am I excited for OpenAI to be a public company? In some ways I am, and in some ways I think it'd be really annoying."
Morgan Stanley and OpenAI did not immediately return MarketWatch's request for comment. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.
Just this week, OpenAI emerged victorious from a legal fight with Musk, who helped found the organization but now competes with it. Musk has said he plans to appeal the ruling, and the company faces some other issues, as well.
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"OpenAI needs to reassure its current investors that the revenue issues reported earlier this year are being resolved," Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management, told MarketWatch in emailed comments.
OpenAI has reportedly missed multiple monthly revenue targets after losing some ground to rival Anthropic, which has won over business customers. In March, OpenAI said it was valued at $852 billion and was generating $2 billion in revenue per month.
Mulberry added that another stumbling block for OpenAI would be the company's potential legal action against Apple $(AAPL)$ over the integration of ChatGPT in its devices. The companies inked the deal in 2024, but their relationship has deteriorated, according to reports.
"Not that it won't happen this year, but there are some hurdles that they need to clear before getting maximum value from the market," Mulberry told MarketWatch.
This year could wind up being historic for the IPO market, at least by cash raised. Anthropic, most recently valued at $380 billion, is also expected to pursue a public debut as soon as this year.
Nearly $29 billion worth of proceeds have been raised so far this year, a 159.8% hike compared with the same time in 2025, according to Renaissance Capital. That's despite just 65 IPOs being priced so far in 2026, a 15.6% decline from last year.
Read more: Elon Musk ditched California, but the state will get a much-needed win from SpaceX's IPO
-William Gavin
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May 20, 2026 15:18 ET (19:18 GMT)
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