JPMorgan Chase Launches Research Coverage on Private AI Companies, Starting with OpenAI

JPMorgan eyes new research frontier with coverage of private firms, source says

July 18 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), opens new tab has begun publishing research notes on prominent private companies transforming industries, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. With many industry-leading private companies delaying public listings, they are attracting a growing share of investor capital, prompting institutional investors to track them more closely at earlier stages. Companies such as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Elon Musk's SpaceX and TikTok-parent Bytedance now hold valuations that rival or surpass several major S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab firms, blurring the distinction between public and private market influence. The largest U.S. lender released its first report on OpenAI, the company that spurred Wall Street's AI gold rush, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Unlike traditional research notes, these brokerage reports will not feature estimates, price targets or ratings, Hussein Malik, J.P.Morgan's head of global research said in the memo, which highlighted AI and software as core areas for private company coverage. "Private companies are becoming increasingly relevant to various industries, especially in the new economy space," Malik said. "The goal of this offering is to support our investor clients by providing structured information and tracking, offering deeper insights into key disruptors and their impact on the sectors in which they operate." Institutional investors are increasingly focused on private company research and investment opportunities as these firms develop technologies that influence mature sectors, the source added. Nearly 1,500 private startups have achieved unicorn status, having raised funding at valuations above $1 billion, according to PitchBook's tracker. North America leads globally with over 1,000 unicorns, collectively valued at nearly $4 trillion. As private companies play a growing role in transforming legacy industries, Wall Street is adjusting to rising demand for insights into these influential firms, reflecting a shift in how market power is assessed. Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence Nupur Anand Thomson Reuters Nupur Anand is a U.S. banking correspondent at Reuters in New York. She focuses on JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and regional banks. Anand covered banking and finance in India for more than a decade, chronicling the collapse of major lenders and turmoil at digital banks and cryptocurrencies. She has a degree in English literature from Delhi University and a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media in Bangalore. Anand is also an award-winning fiction writer. Manya Saini Thomson Reuters Manya reports on prominent publicly listed U.S. financial firms, including Wall Street's biggest banks, card companies, asset managers, and fintechs. She also covers late-stage venture capital funding, initial public offerings on U.S. exchanges, and regulatory developments in the cryptocurrency industry. Her work appears in the finance, markets, business, and future of money sections of the Reuters website. A passionate reader, she loves books across genres, from classics to contemporary fiction. She holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Delhi and a master's in journalism from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication.

JPMorgan Is Reportedly Researching Private Companies. OpenAI Is First Under the Microscope

It's standard practice for investment banks to compile research into publicly-traded companies -- but now JPMorgan Chase & Co. is expanding its analysis to also cover certain private firms, Bloomberg reported late last week. Reuters also reported the news, writing that "with many industry-leading private companies delaying public listings, they are attracting a growing share of investor capital, prompting institutional investors to track them more closely at earlier stages." A person familiar with the move told Bloomberg that the coverage will start off focusing on sectors where private companies have an outsized impact on "industry dynamics and innovations," including software and artificial intelligence. Coverage of OpenAI, the machine learning giant behind ChatGPT, began Friday. JPMorgan's head of global research said in a memo reviewed by Bloomberg that the private company reports won't include ratings, estimates or price targets, but instead just seek to help investors understand broader trends and dynamics in both the public as well as private markets.

JPMorgan eyes new research frontier with coverage of private firms, source says

(Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase has begun publishing research notes on prominent private companies transforming industries, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. With many industry-leading private companies delaying public listings, they are attracting a growing share of investor capital, prompting institutional investors to track them more closely at earlier stages. Companies such as ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Elon Musk's SpaceX and TikTok-parent Bytedance now hold valuations that rival or surpass several major S&P 500 firms, blurring the distinction between public and private market influence. The largest U.S. lender released its first report on OpenAI, the company that spurred Wall Street's AI gold rush, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. Unlike traditional research notes, these brokerage reports will not feature estimates, price targets or ratings, Hussein Malik, J.P.Morgan's head of global research said in the memo, which highlighted AI and software as core areas for private company coverage. "Private companies are becoming increasingly relevant to various industries, especially in the new economy space," Malik said. "The goal of this offering is to support our investor clients by providing structured information and tracking, offering deeper insights into key disruptors and their impact on the sectors in which they operate." Institutional investors are increasingly focused on private company research and investment opportunities as these firms develop technologies that influence mature sectors, the source added. Nearly 1,500 private startups have achieved unicorn status, having raised funding at valuations above $1 billion, according to PitchBook's tracker. North America leads globally with over 1,000 unicorns, collectively valued at nearly $4 trillion. As private companies play a growing role in transforming legacy industries, Wall Street is adjusting to rising demand for insights into these influential firms, reflecting a shift in how market power is assessed. (Reporting by Nupur Anand in New York and Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)