OpenAI is moving toward a September IPO and may file confidential paperwork with regulators within days or weeks, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. CEO Sam Altman is pushing for the ChatGPT maker to go public by September, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley serving as lead bankers on what is expected to be one of the largest tech offerings in recent years.
“Sam Altman reportedly hopes that his company will be ready to go public by September”— Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO
The IPO push comes one day after a court dismissed Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, removing a significant legal obstacle that had threatened the company's structure and finances. The timing positions OpenAI to compete directly with SpaceX in the public markets — SpaceX is expected to disclose its own IPO filing on Wednesday, May 27.
OpenAI has been working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, both dominant players in tech IPOs, to prepare the offering. The company has not disclosed a target valuation, but its last private funding round valued it in the hundreds of billions. A September timeline would give OpenAI roughly four months to complete regulatory review and roadshow preparations.
Key facts
- 01OpenAI is targeting a September IPO with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as lead bankers.
- 02The company may file confidential IPO paperwork with regulators within days or weeks.
- 03SpaceX, now a major OpenAI competitor after absorbing xAI, is expected to disclose its own IPO filing on Wednesday.
- 04The timing follows the dismissal of Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, clearing a major legal obstacle.
The competitive dynamic between OpenAI and SpaceX has intensified since SpaceX absorbed xAI, Musk's AI model company. Both firms are now racing to public markets, setting up a direct comparison between Altman's and Musk's visions for AI. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left the board in 2018 and has since become one of its most vocal critics.
OpenAI's revenue has grown rapidly on the back of ChatGPT, which launched in late 2022 and quickly became the fastest-growing consumer application in history. The company has since expanded into enterprise software, API access, and custom model deployments, though it has not disclosed recent revenue figures publicly.
A September IPO would also test investor appetite for AI at a time when several other AI-adjacent companies are preparing to go public. The IPO market for tech has been uneven over the past two years, with high-profile offerings seeing mixed reception depending on growth metrics and path to profitability.
The confidential filing process allows OpenAI to submit its S-1 registration statement to the SEC without immediate public disclosure, giving the company time to refine its financials and narrative before the full prospectus becomes available. Most large tech IPOs in recent years have used this route to control timing and messaging.
OpenAI declined to comment on the IPO timeline or the specifics of its regulatory filings. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley also declined to comment.
The race between OpenAI and SpaceX will hinge on more than just valuation — it will test whether public markets value Altman's AI-first model or Musk's broader aerospace-and-AI conglomerate. Both companies have loyal followings and deep technical moats, but neither has proven it can sustain public-company margins at scale. September will show which pitch resonates.
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