OpenAI has filed confidentially to go public on the US stock market, according to an announcement from the company. The artificial intelligence giant is expected to achieve one of the most highly valued listings in market history, with a valuation exceeding $850 billion.
The company submitted a confidential S-1 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which allows regulators to review financial disclosures before public disclosure. "We expect it to leak so we're just announcing it," the company said in a blog post. The company acknowledged that timing remains uncertain, noting that certain activities may be easier to pursue as a private company, but that going public could become advantageous depending on circumstances.
OpenAI's move comes one week after rival Anthropic, which produces the Claude chatbot, announced plans to file for a public listing. This intensifies competition among leading AI developers to access capital markets for funding their operations.
The IPO filing marks a significant milestone for OpenAI, which began as a nonprofit research laboratory in 2015 before converting to a for-profit structure. The company gained massive prominence after releasing ChatGPT in 2022, which rapidly accumulated hundreds of millions of users and transformed how people work across entertainment, healthcare, education, and other sectors.
The competitive landscape for AI company listings has expanded further, with SpaceX, which owns Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI, also preparing to go public at an expected valuation of $1.75 trillion. OpenAI closed a funding round in March valued at approximately $852 billion, demonstrating investor confidence despite the company's difficulty achieving profitability and meeting certain revenue targets.
The path forward contains potential obstacles. OpenAI recently prevailed in a lawsuit brought by Musk, who sought to force the company to revert to nonprofit status. A jury panel ruled that the case fell outside the statute of limitations. However, the company faces more than a dozen additional lawsuits alleging that ChatGPT has exacerbated mental health crises and contributed to violent incidents.
Despite legal scrutiny, OpenAI has continued attracting major partnerships with Microsoft, Google, Nvidia, and the Trump administration. The company has also pursued expansion beyond its core chatbot, though with mixed results. It acquired Jony Ive's startup and launched video generation software called Sora before shuttering that application in April 2026.
The wave of AI company public offerings reflects broader investor appetite for the sector. China's recent export data showed semiconductor and technology shipments surging, partly driven by AI-related demand. The concentration of major AI firms seeking public listings within a compressed timeframe suggests a significant shift in how these technology companies finance growth, moving from private funding rounds toward traditional stock market access.