OpenAI has taken a concrete step toward a public offering, filing a confidential S-1 registration statement with the SEC. The company, last valued at $852 billion in its March funding round, signaled the move in a post on X, noting it expects the document to leak anyway. It's the clearest signal yet that the AI giant is at least exploring an exit from private status — but OpenAI stressed it hasn't set a timeline and may stay private to pursue certain initiatives.
Anthropic filed first, with a bigger number
OpenAI isn't the only high-profile AI lab eyeing the public markets. Anthropic filed its own confidential S-1 roughly a week earlier. The company's most recent funding round, a $65 billion raise, valued it at $965 billion — outstripping OpenAI's $852 billion mark. That puts the two firms in an unusual race where the later filer is carrying a lower price tag, at least for now. Both are working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, according to a May report from BeInCrypto.
Why announce a confidential filing?
The S-1 process is typically kept under wraps until the SEC completes its review. OpenAI's decision to pre-announce the submission — and openly predict a leak — is unusual. The company's post on X framed it almost matter-of-factly: the paperwork is in, it's confidential by design, but don't expect it to stay that way. The approach gives OpenAI some control over the narrative rather than reacting to a leaked document later. It also keeps pressure on the SEC to move quickly, since the cat is effectively already out of the bag.
SpaceX makes it a three-way week
The IPO buzz isn't limited to AI. SpaceX is targeting a June 12 Nasdaq debut, and investor demand is reportedly hitting $150 billion — double the company's $75 billion target. That sets up a remarkable convergence: two of the most valuable private tech companies in the world are moving toward public markets at the same time, while a third rocket company is gunning for a listing that could dwarf them both in terms of oversubscription. OpenAI hasn't given any date. But with Anthropic already in the pipeline and SpaceX loading up for launch week, the SEC's review queue is getting crowded.
The next concrete milestone is SpaceX's planned June 12 listing. For OpenAI, the only deadline is the one the SEC sets. How fast the regulator moves — and whether the document actually leaks before then — will determine when the rest of us get to see the financials that back that $852 billion number.
