OpenAI has filed its initial public offering paperwork confidentially with U.S. regulators, enlisting Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to take the company public, with a listing targeted as early as September 2026 at a valuation between $730 billion and $850 billion.
The Filing
The confidential S-1 filing, reported around May 22, 2026, allows OpenAI to rehearse its financials with the SEC out of the public eye. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, two of the most active AI and mega-cap IPO banks of the past two years, are leading. Additional underwriters could be added as the deal moves toward a roadshow.
The Numbers
- $730-850 billion — the valuation range OpenAI is seeking despite the “$1 trillion” headline talk
- $20 billion-plus annualized revenue, built on consumer subscriptions and API usage
- Fast-growing ChatGPT paid plans and Codex enterprise adoption as the growth engine
Why Now
The timing follows OpenAI’s emergence as the defining company of the AI boom, with surging revenue and heavy investment into compute and frontier research. A launch window before the end of 2026 would give public investors early exposure to what many consider the most important technology company of the era, while raising fresh capital for the infrastructure arms race against rivals such as Anthropic and Google DeepMind.
Risks and Roadblocks
An IPO of this scale still faces real headwinds: regulatory scrutiny over AI safety and content, debate inside the company over how to balance for-profit growth with its nonprofit mission, and questions about whether the valuation can hold in a choppy market. Past insider sales and the exit of key executives also give bankers and investors reason for caution heading into pricing.
What This Means
A successful listing would deliver one of the largest tech IPOs in history and hand everyday investors a direct stake in frontier AI. For the sector, OpenAI’s price will effectively set the benchmark against which every AI company — public or private — is measured for years to come.