What OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs mean for the AI industry

The second half of 2026 anticipates a wave of historic IPOs from pure-play Gen AI behemoths that could see valuations climb past the trillion-dollar mark. 

Both OpenAI and Anthropic aim to captivate the investors, moving from tech laboratories to Wall Street, as they look to secure massive public funding this year. 

Perplexity, on the other hand, is planning to go public in 2028 regardless of ​how the market receives the listings of Anthropic and OpenAI. 

The AI firm’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, told CNBC that the company is sticking to its original plan but there is no sugar coating the ripple effects if these initial public offerings fail to perform well. 

Aravind notes: “I think it's important for the AI industry that these IPOs go well, and I actually think they will go well, because they’re doing well.”

Testing investor appetite

On 8 June 2026, OpenAI confidentially filed for a US initial public offering (IPO). 

The company did not disclose the size or terms of the offering, saying that a timeline has not yet been determined.

OpenAI notes: “It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company.” 

As per multiple reports, the tech giant is targeting a valuation of up to US$1tn in a stock market debut that could come as early as September 2026.

At that valuation, OpenAI will set the stage for a trio of trillion-dollar-valuation companies debuting rapidly. 

The move follows a similar confidential filing from its primary rival, Anthropic. The company behind Claude Code said on 1 June 2026 that it had confidentially filed for a US IPO. 

The filing came weeks after raising US$65bn in a funding round that valued it at US$965bn.

Together, these listings are being seen as the most consequential test of investor appetite for high-growth technology stocks in the last 10 years.

Accelerating revenue 

The IPOs of Anthropic and OpenAI will crystallise a transformative period for the tech industry and global markets as AI emerges as the defining investment theme of the decade.

OpenAI said earlier in 2026 that it was raising US$110bn at an US$840bn valuation, with heavyweight backers that included SoftBank, Amazon and NVIDIA.

At the time, OpenAI also disclosed that ChatGPT had more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers. The IPO filing follows OpenAI renegotiating its partnership with Microsoft, which is one of its earliest investors.

Microsoft invested US$13bn since 2019, helping pave the way for the rapid rise of OpenAI and powering growth at the Azure cloud computing business of Microsoft. 

The renegotiated deal allowed OpenAI to forge new partnerships with firms such as Amazon and Alphabet Google.

In March 2026, OpenAI said it was generating US$2bn in monthly revenue. The company is currently growing roughly four times faster than companies that defined the internet and mobile eras, including Alphabet and Meta.

That monthly figure compares with about US$1bn in quarterly revenue at the end of 2024. 

Despite this growth, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that OpenAI informed investors during its most recent fundraising round that it does not expect to be profitable until 2030.

Clearing legal hurdles 

OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a research-focused nonprofit, but created a for-profit arm four years later to help fund the soaring costs of developing AI systems. 

This unusual structure gave the nonprofit control over the for-profit entity.

The system came under intense scrutiny in late 2023 when CEO Sam Altman was briefly ousted before returning days later after employees revolted. 

In December 2024, OpenAI unveiled plans to overhaul its structure by creating a public benefit corporation.

The company said the move would help it raise far more capital while easing restrictions imposed by its nonprofit parent. The overhaul quickly became controversial after sharp criticism from early backer Elon Musk.

Elon later sued OpenAI and accused Sam of turning the nonprofit into a vehicle for private enrichment. 

A US jury ruled against Elon in May 2026, finding the AI company not liable for allegedly straying from its original mission to benefit humanity.

The unanimous verdict removed a key overhang on the IPO, with analysts saying that the decision cleared a major legal hurdle for OpenAI.

Elon’s SpaceX is also filing for an IPO that is expected to rank as the largest in history if completed. 

The aerospace company is pursuing a US$75bn offering at a US$1.75tn valuation.

According to Aravind, the SpaceX IPO will be a leading indicator for how well the OpenAI and Anthropic ones will go. 

The Perplexity CEO adds: “We are very happy for their success as their success means they will be able to invest more in frontier model development and every time AI gets better, Perplexity gets better.”