CNBC reported in early June 2026 that OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, completing a wave of mega listings alongside Anthropic and SpaceX.
Filing and official statement
- OpenAI posted: “We recently submitted a confidential S-1. We expect it to leak so we’re just announcing it. We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.”
- A confidential filing lets regulators review financials before a public S-1, per CNBC.
- CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC in April that a company of OpenAI’s size should “look and feel and act” like a public company but declined a specific timeline.
Scale and banks
- CNBC said OpenAI is valued at more than $850 billion and has been gearing up to go public as soon as the fourth quarter of 2026.
- The company is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, the same lead banks listed atop SpaceX’s filing, per CNBC.
- OpenAI also plans a tender offer letting employees sell at the latest $852 billion post-money valuation, according to a person familiar with the plans cited by CNBC.
Product and competition context
- ChatGPT now supports more than 900 million weekly active users, CNBC reported.
- OpenAI has raised more than $180 billion while still burning cash to secure compute, the piece said.
- Anthropic filed confidentially a week earlier after a $965 billion round; SpaceX began its roadshow the same week.
- Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas told CNBC Perplexity plans a 2028 IPO regardless of how markets receive the OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX listings.
Primary source: CNBC — OpenAI confidentially files for IPO, prepping Wall Street for AI debut (June 8–9, 2026).