OpenAI files to the SEC to begin the IPO process

In an effort to democratize AI, OpenAI, the newest tech company scheduled for a "mega IPO" in 2026, is getting ready for the third stage of its development

The company that created ChatGPT, OpenAI, has entered the competition between the three tech behemoths that are scheduled to list in 2026 and are all expected to make a historic IPO.

OpenAI began its own initial public offering (IPO) process a week after Anthropic submitted its own documentation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US regulator, and the same week that SpaceX is anticipated to go public.

On Monday, June 8, OpenAI posted a brief statement on its website, saying: "We recently submitted a confidential S-1. We are simply announcing it because we anticipate a leak. Since there are some things we want to do that are probably simpler as a private company, we haven't decided on a time yet, and it might take some time. However, there are a number of intricate trade-offs, and this allows us to go public sooner if that turns out to be the best option."

The amount of market speculation prior to an IPO can be reduced by filing a confidential S-1 form, which allows the SEC to examine a company's financials before they must be made public.

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How much does OpenAI cost?

With £122 billion in committed capital co-led by SoftBank, OpenAI closed its most recent funding round at the end of March. The AI company's post-money valuation is approximately £852 billion. OpenAI is ranked behind Anthropics' most recent valuation of £965 billion, dwarfed by SpaceX's reported £1.75 trillion valuation.

It claimed to be making £2 billion a month, which is four times more than "the companies who defined the internet and mobile eras, including Alphabet and Meta" in terms of growth.

In an effort to draw in individual investors, the company at the time also expanded its availability to bank channels, including through a number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from the stock's owner, ARK Invest.

The third phase of OpenAI democracy.

OpenAI announced that it was starting its third phase in addition to confirming its S-1 filing.

As of February, it had over 50 million paying subscribers and about 900 million weekly active users, having led the consumer-facing AI boom with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022.

The three primary objectives of OpenAI are to develop an automated AI researcher, boost economic growth, and provide artificial general intelligence (AGI) to all people on the planet.

According to a June 8 blog post by CEO Sam Altman and chief scientist Jakub Pachocki, the company's first phase involved researching AGI, while its second phase started "when our research became relevant to the real world and we became a product company."

"The third phase is about to begin. The economy is starting to change in response to AI. The main issue at hand is how to make sophisticated AI widely available, reasonably priced, secure, practical, and simple enough for every individual and organization to profit from it."

According to the article, a wide distribution of AI power is necessary in the future to make societies more "resilient, adaptable, and free" as opposed to concentrating it in a small number of hands, which history demonstrates leads to fragility.

Because of this, access is important. Additionally, it is the reason that public oversight, open ecosystems, safety, privacy, and affordability are important," they stated.