OpenAI IPO pushed to 2027 as Altman chases trillion-dollar valuation amid market turbulence

OpenAI hasn't held pre-IPO investor meetings or set timeline yet, sources say

OpenAI is reportedly delaying its IPO: Here's what you need to know OpenAI hasn't yet held pre-IPO meetings to discuss potential pricing and demand, or outlined an official timeline for the listing, according to sources familiar with the company's plans. Those meetings to test the waters with investors will likely start once the artificial intelligence company has a better sense of timing, said the people, who asked not to be named because the details are not public. OpenAI said it confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month, a promising signal for investors who are eager to jump into AI. But the company has repeatedly tried to temper expectations about when it will hit the public markets, writing in a post on X that it "may be a while." The New York Times reported on Thursday that OpenAI is leaning towards a 2027 IPO. The company did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The speculation over OpenAI's plans come after Elon Musk's SpaceX made a historic debut earlier this month, minting him as the world's first trillionaire. The stock has had a volatile first two weeks, and shares were mostly flat during intraday trading on Friday. OpenAI's chief rival, Anthropic, has also confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators, but it has not disclosed an official timeline. The company's CEO, Sam Altman, told CNBC earlier this month that OpenAI will IPO when it makes sense. "I think there is a race to deliver the best technology and build the best business, but, you know, going public is a financing event, and I don't think that's one that we're focused on the timing of," Altman said. CNBC's David Faber contributed to this report.

NYT: OpenAI mulls delaying IPO over valuation concerns

Sam Altman reportedly does not want OpenAI to be valued at less than $1trn at IPO. OpenAI is reportedly mulling over delaying its initial public offering (IPO) to 2027, after a strong SpaceX debut was followed by a drop in share value. The ChatGPT-parent filed to go public earlier this month, but said that it could be a "while" before it ceases to be a private company. Sources told The New York Times (NYT) that the company was aiming for a debut in the third or the fourth quarter of this year. SpaceX - which raised a record-breaking $75bn in its IPO listing this month - is considered to be a litmus test for the giant AI business, as both industry and individual consumers continue to drive up demand for its services. AI search start-up Perplexity's CEO warned of "ripple effects" if these blockbuster IPOs fail to meet expectations. The SpaceX IPO "will definitely be like a leading indicator to how Anthropic or OpenAI will go out," he said. Anthropic is expected to be valuated at more than $1trn following its debut, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wants the same for his AI start-up. Advisors, however, have told Altman that an IPO in 2026 could value the company at less than $1trn, and instead offered the option of waiting until 2027, NYT reported yesterday (25 June). One source said that any changes to the $1trn valuation was a nonstarter for the CEO. OpenAI was last valued at $825bn following a $122bn raise in late March. Concerns arose for OpenAI after a stellar SpaceX debut, which raised the company to a valuation of more than $1.7trn, was followed by a slump in shares. At its peak, SpaceX shares were valued at nearly $202 a piece, which has now dropped to $153 a share as of market close yesterday. Prices have further dropped marginally in after-hours trading, but remain higher than its debut price of $135 a share. Technology stocks are also tumbling over doubts around whether AI would make its promised returns. Chip stocks, meanwhile, are gaining as businesses spend hundreds of billions on their AI stack to meet demand. Despite hopes to be valued at more than $1trn, OpenAI is far from being profitable. The AI start-up made around $13bn in revenue last year and plans to spend about $600bn on computing capacity by 2030. It generates around $2bn in revenue a month. Sources told CNBC earlier this year that the company projects its total revenue for 2030 to be more than $280bn - around 20-times its 2025 earnings. Meanwhile, after years of sharp growth in ChatGPT users, OpenAI finds its user base hovering around 900m. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

OpenAI Considers Delaying Its IPO -- And SpaceX's Volatility Is a Big Reason Why

Get personalized, AI-powered answers built on 27+ years of trusted expertise. Investors who'd been looking forward to OpenAI's hotly anticipated IPO this year might just have to wait. The AI startup behind ChatGPT is considering postponing its public debut plans to next year, after watching SpaceX's (SPCX) stock hit the skids just weeks after its record IPO, according to a report from The New York Times. The startup had been expected to list in the second half of the year, after filing paperwork confidentially with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month. OpenAI did not respond to an Investopedia request for comment in time for publication. Private companies tend to go public when market vibes are good, hoping to see strong demand for their offerings and debut trading -- but sentiment appears to have shifted in the wake of SpaceX's launch, with a tech rout that pressured shares of several chipmakers and hyperscalers this week. SpaceX recently traded around $157, just above its opening price of $150, and about 30% off its intraday peak around $225. That price action has also stripped founder and CEO Elon Musk of his trillionaire superlative. (For more reporting from Investopedia on today's market moves, click here.) Shares of AI chipmaker Cerebras (CBRS), which held the title of this year's largest IPO prior to SpaceX's debut, have taken a dive too, after its first-quarter results as a public company appeared to disappoint. The stock, which recently traded at around $173, has dropped 50% from its opening price roughly one month after its May debut. OpenAI delaying its IPO could also have a chilling effect on other new listings expected this year, including rival AI startup Anthropic, which confidentially filed to go public earlier this month.

OpenAI weighs IPO in 2027 after expected Anthropic public debut

AI giant OpenAI is reportedly eyeing a 2027 initial public offering, potentially after rival Anthropic. Both companies have confidentially filed for an IPO, with Anthropic possibly listing as early as October. Recent tech market volatility has influenced OpenAI's timing, though deliberations are ongoing. This move aims to secure public market funding for substantial AI infrastructure investments. OpenAI is considering an initial public offering as soon as in 2027, according to people familiar with the matter, a timeline that would potentially see it go public after its artificial intelligence rival Anthropic PBC. The ChatGPT maker's leadership expect that Anthropic will likely go public first, the people said, even though both companies have already filed confidentially with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. OpenAI had been targeting a fall listing, and Anthropic is considering an IPO as soon as in October, Bloomberg News has reported. Recent volatility in tech stocks has influenced OpenAI's potential timing, some of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn't public. Deliberations are ongoing and details of OpenAI's IPO plans could change, the people said. The New York Times first reported the expected IPO timing. A spokesperson for OpenAI didn't respond to a request for comment. OpenAI and Anthropic have been racing to make their Wall Street debuts as soon as this year, in a bid to attract public market investors and support their heavy spending on chips and data centers for AI. OpenAI is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley on its potential listing, Bloomberg News reported. OpenAI added a note of caution to its expected IPO timeline in its statement announcing the confidential filing. "We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company," OpenAI said. "But it's a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best." Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley stock fell as much as 4.9% and 4.2% respectively Friday in New York. Shares of SoftBank Group Corp., a large OpenAI backer, and Oracle Corp., a major data center partner, both fell following the news of the revised IPO timeline. Anthropic, once viewed as an underdog relative to OpenAI, has seen revenue soar this year thanks to the success of its AI software, including products that help streamline the process of writing and debugging code. The Claude maker filed confidentially to go public shortly before OpenAI. OpenAI raised $122 billion in a funding round from investors earlier this year to support its spending spree on AI infrastructure. The financing valued the ChatGPT maker at $852 billion, including the money raised.

OpenAI IPO Reportedly Delayed To 2027: 'There's No Rational Argument' For $1 Trillion Valuation, Says Gar

Sam Altman's OpenAI is chasing a trillion-dollar IPO, but new reporting suggests the listing may now slip to 2027 as the company burns through cash at a record pace. The artificial intelligence firm is leaning toward holding off until next year, according to a New York Times report citing three people involved in the deliberations. Advisers reportedly presented Altman with two options: wait until 2027 for the trillion-dollar tag, or settle for a smaller number and list in 2026. Altman reportedly called any reduction a "non-starter." CFO Sarah Friar is said to be pushing internally for the delay, citing roughly $600 billion in compute infrastructure commitments through 2030 as a reason the company needs more runway before facing public-company reporting obligations. Gary Marcus Sees 'No Rational Argument' NYU professor and AI skeptic Gary Marcus told the Prof G Markets podcast this week that the math simply does not work. "There is no rational argument for buying a share of OpenAI at a trillion-dollar valuation. There just isn't," Marcus said, noting the company is losing roughly $2 billion a month on operations. Marcus, who testified before the U.S. Senate in 2023 alongside Altman, has previously likened OpenAI to telecom-era flameout WorldCom. He suggested the company may now sit in fourth place behind Anthropic, Google, and others. Polymarket traders place OpenAI third in the race to have the best model by the end of 2026, at 11%, far behind Anthropic at 67%, but ahead of Elon Musk's troubled xAI. Google is in second with 13%. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that OpenAI has missed recent internal revenue targets, lending weight to skepticism about the company's financial trajectory. Polymarket Traders Bet On A Delay Polymarket's "OpenAI IPO by..." market currently assigns a 78% probability that the company will not list before December 31, 2026. A separate market gives Anthropic a 77% probability of beating OpenAI to the public markets, following its own confidential S-1 filing on June 1. SpaceX Slump Casts A Shadow The advisers' caution may also be tied to the rocky debut of SpaceX Inc. (NASDAQ:SPCX), whose shares have tumbled from above $225 to around $153 since its record IPO earlier this month. The stock still trades comfortably above its $135 offer price, meaning early IPO buyers are in the green, but the roughly 30% retracement from its peak may have spooked the executives weighing OpenAI's listing window. Image: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

OpenAI's IPO Delay Could Be Bullish, Says Shareholder - SuRo Capital (NASDAQ:SSSS)

OpenAI may not be delaying its initial public offering (IPO) because the market isn't ready -- it may be waiting because investors can't seem to stop raising the price tag. "I think the valuation is much higher than that," Lee said in a prepared statement, referring to OpenAI's last funding-round valuation. OpenAI's Employee Tender May Hold The Answer According to Lee, the clearest indication of OpenAI's current valuation may come from its ongoing employee tender offer rather than an IPO filing. "OpenAI is actually testing that right now with their employee tender, and I'm not sure if all the employees at OpenAI want to sell shares at last round valuation," Lee said. Lee believes the tender could reveal that private investors are willing to pay substantially more than OpenAI's previous valuation, reducing the urgency for the ChatGPT maker to tap public markets. If private capital continues to value OpenAI at higher levels, waiting until 2027 could allow the company to command an even larger valuation when it eventually lists. Private AI Companies Are Seeing Rapid Revenue Growth Lee also argued that the public market has yet to fully appreciate how quickly leading private AI companies are growing. "In the private markets, we are seeing massive revenue increases year over year for some of these companies," he said. "Meanwhile, we're seeing massive valuation increases because we have that line of sight and people in the public markets haven't had that opportunity yet," Lee said. For Lee, the reported IPO delay should not necessarily be viewed as a warning sign. Instead, he believes it reflects the strength of the private AI market, where surging revenue growth and rising valuations continue to give companies like OpenAI flexibility over when -- and at what valuation -- they eventually choose to go public. Image via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.