OpenAI could be made public as early as September

OpenAI is reportedly preparing to file an initial public offering (IPO) according to The New York Times. If a filing occurs in the near future, the IPO could happen as early as September.

All this according to two company insiders who spoke to the newspaper. They said OpenAI had prepared the ground for an IPO filing through discussions with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The company would closely monitor the stock market to help it choose the ideal time to file.

OpenAI responded to today’s report, but with mealy corporate talk. “As part of normal governance, we regularly evaluate a range of strategic options,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Our focus remains on execution.”

OpenAI is one of the largest companies in the AI ​​space and is valued at $730 billion, according to its latest funding round. It could join a crowded stock market, as rivals SpaceX (which now owns xAI) and Anthropic have both made moves to go public. SpaceX’s public offering could take place as soon as next month.

This comes just after the company cleared an obstacle on the path to a possible IPO. A federal judge and jury this week dismissed a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk that could have dismantled OpenAI’s for-profit arm.

The company will likely make a splash in the market with a public offering, but it’s worth noting that OpenAI’s economic calculations are a bit strange. There appears to be a huge gap in revenue and expenses, with the company spending more than it took in. It reported a loss of $5 billion in 2024, with $3.7 billion in revenue.

Since then, revenues have increased rapidly, as have costs. Altman has pledged to spend $600 billion by 2030 on IT infrastructure. This has led experts to predict that the company will lose $44 billion by 2028. Those who are bullish on OpenAI say it will become profitable in 2029 or 2030. That’s a very long time frame for a startup to reach profitability.

Finally, there is the notion of its valuation. It is worth $730 billion, much of which is based on previous investments from companies like NVIDIA and Microsoft. This has led to accusations of circular investing, as OpenAI is one of NVIDIA’s biggest customers and Microsoft has been the company’s exclusive cloud provider for years.