OpenAI files to go public as the race between tech giants heats up
OpenAI has confirmed plans for an initial public offering as it looks to beat fellow artificial intelligence giant Anthropic to Wall Street.
The artificial intelligence firm, led by chief executive Sam Altman, submitted paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO on Monday.
OpenAI did not disclose the size or terms of the offering, with a timeline for going public not yet determined, but it is expected to seek a valuation of at least $1 trillion (£747.8bn).
The firm’s decision to launch an IPO comes just one week after rival Anthropic confidentially filed for a US stock market listing.
The Claude maker did not disclose the size, timing or valuation of the offering, nor the number of shares which will be made available.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is also gearing up for its Nasdaq debut, with it expected to hit the stock market on Friday, seeking to raise $75bn at a valuation of roughly $1.7 trillion.
Fighting for interest
The race to Wall Street comes as AI companies look to tap into public capital to fund their ambitious growth plans, relying on the interest and appetite of retail investors.
SpaceX’s IPO has already thrown investor interest into question, with some expressing concerns over the large valuation, as the company would trade at 92 times last year’s revenue, outstripping other big tech firms.
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, said: “The OpenAI news means that we will hear more about how much revenue it is generating and how much cash it is burning through in the coming weeks..their soaring valuations and big promises for how AI will change the world and send their revenues soaring.”
Brooks also noted that “caution is setting in” over SpaceX’s debut despite Wall Street and chief executives being “beside themselves”.
Meanwhile, Anthropic and OpenAI are gunning for enterprise customers alongside investor attention, with both their Claude and ChatGPT models being sold to developers and corporate customers.
Amazon and Google have both committed to Anthropic, while Microsoft continues to back Open AI.
OpenAI was valued at $852bn during its last funding round, but lost its standing as the most valuable AI company to Anthropic, which was valued at $95bn.