OpenAI files for IPO this week, targeting Q4 2026 debut
OpenAI plans to submit its IPO application to regulators this week, positioning for a late-2026 public offering that could rank among the largest in history.
OpenAI is moving forward with an initial public offering, filing paperwork with regulators as early as this week. The company waited until the conclusion of its lawsuit with Elon Musk before triggering the formal IPO process, according to The Wall Street Journal. The timing suggests OpenAI had its application ready and was simply holding for legal clarity before proceeding.
The regulatory review typically runs several months, putting a public debut on track for the fourth quarter of 2026. OpenAI's valuation in private markets has climbed past $150 billion in recent funding rounds, setting the stage for what analysts expect to be one of the largest technology IPOs on record. The company generated an estimated $3.7 billion in annualized revenue as of late 2025, driven by ChatGPT subscriptions and enterprise API contracts.
OpenAI's shift from a capped-profit structure to a more conventional corporate form earlier this year was a prerequisite for listing on public exchanges. That restructuring resolved governance questions that had lingered since the company's founding as a nonprofit research lab in 2015. If the offering proceeds on schedule, it will be one of the most closely watched tech IPOs since the pandemic-era SPAC wave—a bellwether for how public markets value AI infrastructure at scale.