IPO wave ahead as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic near public listings
SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic are all working toward listing their shares on stock exchanges, possibly before the end of this year. Several sources say these offerings could bring in billions of dollars, making 2026 a record year for the people who invested early and the firms that help companies go public.
SpaceX, by Elon Musk, recently informed its backers that it intends to list within the coming year, barring any serious problems in financial markets.
Meanwhile, Anthropic has brought on the California-based law firm Wilson Sonsini to start getting ready for a public offering.
OpenAI has been meeting with top legal practices, including Cooley, though the maker of ChatGPT has not yet picked which lawyers will guide its process, according to sources.
Valuations soar into hundreds of billions
The companies have yet to set IPO valuation targets. But their private valuations give some indication of their scale. OpenAI currently carries a price tag of $500 billion and is talking with investors about raising fresh money that could push its value past $750 billion. These discussions are still in early phases, but the company could take in tens of billions of dollars, people familiar with the talks said.
SpaceX is working on selling existing shares among private investors at a valuation of $800 billion, several sources confirmed. Anthropic is also seeking new investment that backers expect will value the artificial intelligence company above $300 billion.
If these three companies alone sold stock to the public, they would bring in more than the roughly 200 American companies that went public in 2025. Peter Hébert, who started the investment firm Lux Capital, said he cannot remember seeing anything like this before.
“I can’t recall a crop like this — three private companies which would be among the largest public market caps in the world,” Hébert said. “The likelihood of all these companies listing [in 2026] is small, but possible, and would mean an epic bonanza for VCs, bankers and deal attorneys.”
SpaceX is expected to raise more than the $29 billion Saudi Aramco collected when it went public in 2019, making it the biggest stock offering ever.
A challenging year for IPOs in 2025
Last year saw some technology companies list their shares, including Figma, Klarna, CoreWeave, and Chime. During the first nine months of 2025, American companies raised more than $30 billion through new stock offerings, with most of that coming from tech firms, according to EY data.
Other large private companies are also considering going public this year. Databricks, a data analytics business valued at $134 billion, and Canva, a design platform worth $42 billion, are among those looking at their options, according to EY.
Founders Fund, the investment firm connected to Peter Thiel, put $20 million into SpaceX back in 2008 and has added more money in later rounds. That stake is now worth tens of billions of dollars. Alphabet also owns a position worth billions. Khosla Ventures, which got into OpenAI early, took a 5 percent stake in 2019.
Last year, both Anthropic and OpenAI took steps to prepare for life as public companies. They hired executives who have run publicly traded businesses before, cleaned up how their boards operate, and brought in large investors who typically buy shares of public companies.
These preparations mean the companies can choose when they want to go public, though recent market movements have created some uncertainty. Large publicly traded companies like Oracle and Broadcom have seen their stock prices drop sharply as worries grow about whether artificial intelligence companies are overvalued.
“When you have a generational company who is defining their category, I don’t think their decision to go public is a reaction to a macro market view,” Ryan Biggs, co-head of venture investment at Franklin Templeton, said “These businesses are so strong that they are the ones driving the macro.”
Plans could still change if major political or economic problems arise. Going public will also subject these companies to much closer examination than they face as private businesses. SpaceX did not respond when asked for comment. OpenAI also declined to comment.
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