OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file paperwork for an initial public offering as early as this week, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Investment banks including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are reportedly helping draft the prospectus as the AI startup positions itself for a possible public debut as early as September. A confidential IPO filing allows a company to privately submit its financial and business disclosures to the SEC for review before publicly announcing plans to go public.
The move follows a key legal victory for OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman after a federal judge dismissed claims brought by co-founder Elon Musk over the company’s conversion from a nonprofit research lab into a for-profit business structure. Musk has said he plans to appeal.
OpenAI, recently valued at $852 billion in a funding round, faces mounting investor scrutiny over whether revenue growth can justify its massive AI infrastructure spending. The company has also encountered increasing pressure from rivals including Anthropic and Google, amid reports it missed internal revenue and user targets.
The IPO could become one of the most closely watched technology listings in years as AI companies race to dominate the emerging market for frontier models and enterprise AI platforms.