OpenAI is preparing for an initial public offering that could value the company at up to $1 trillion, according to three people familiar with the matter, in what could become one of the biggest IPOs in history.
The company is considering filing with securities regulators as soon as the second half of 2026, some of the people said. In early discussions, OpenAI has looked at raising at least $60 billion, with the final amount likely to be higher, they said. The people cautioned that the talks are still preliminary and that details — including figures and timing — could change based on business performance and market conditions. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has told some associates that the company is targeting a 2027 listing, though some advisers believe it could happen as soon as late 2026.
“An IPO is not our focus, so we could not possibly have set a date,” an OpenAI spokesperson said. “We are building a durable business and advancing our mission so everyone benefits from AGI.”
The IPO preparations signal a new urgency within the ChatGPT maker to tap public markets after completing a complex restructuring that reduced its reliance on Microsoft. A public listing would allow OpenAI to raise capital more efficiently and pursue larger acquisitions using public stock, helping to fund CEO Sam Altman’s plans to invest trillions of dollars in AI infrastructure, according to people familiar with the company’s strategy.
OpenAI’s annualized revenue run rate is expected to reach about $20 billion by the end of the year, though losses are also rising at the $500 billion company, the people said. During a livestream on Tuesday, Altman addressed the possibility of going public. “I think it’s fair to say it is the most likely path for us, given the capital needs that we’ll have,” he said.
OpenAI began as a nonprofit in 2015. A few years later, it overhauled its structure so that the nonprofit would retain oversight and control over a for-profit arm. The nonprofit’s main goal was to ensure that OpenAI developed artificial intelligence safely rather than focusing solely on profits.
This week, OpenAI restructured again. It remains under the control of a nonprofit—now called the OpenAI Foundation—but the foundation holds a 26% stake in OpenAI Group and has a warrant to receive additional shares if the company meets certain milestones. The change makes the nonprofit a significant stakeholder in OpenAI’s financial success.
A successful offering would mark a major win for investors such as SoftBank, Thrive Capital, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX. Microsoft, one of OpenAI’s largest backers, now owns about 27% of the company after investing $13 billion.
The deliberations come as the artificial intelligence boom continues to drive public markets. Earlier this year, AI cloud company CoreWeave went public at a $23 billion valuation and has since roughly tripled in value. On Wednesday, Nvidia became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market capitalization, cementing its position at the center of the global AI surge.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that OpenAI could go public as early as 2027.