OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, announced Monday it has filed confidentially for an initial public offering. The company submitted a draft registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, though it has not disclosed specifics. OpenAI said it posted the blog post to anticipate potential leaks, as it has not decided on the IPO timing. The filing comes a week after Anthropic, its main rival, also filed for an IPO. The move highlights the growing competition between the two AI firms as they seek to go public in 2026.
The IPO filing allows OpenAI to prepare for a public offering without revealing detailed financial information or business risks. The company has not yet shared stock pricing or the amount it hopes to raise. Meanwhile, secondary markets provide a glimpse into investor sentiment, with Anthropic recently surpassing OpenAI’s valuation on Forge Global. OpenAI’s stock in the secondary market has seen a slight increase, indicating investors may be pricing both companies as potential winners in the large language model race.
OpenAI, founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, disrupted the AI world with the release of ChatGPT in 2022. The company has faced internal struggles, including the ousting and reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman in 2022, and ongoing legal challenges, including a recent lawsuit from Florida accusing the company of harming children. These issues will likely be scrutinized by prospective public investors.
Source: techcrunch
