OpenAI Leans Toward Delaying $1 Trillion IPO to 2027
OpenAI is leaning toward postponing its initial public offering until 2027, according to a New York Times report citing people involved in the company’s internal deliberations. The shift marks a significant reversal for a company that had been barreling toward a public debut as early as the third or fourth quarter of 2026.
SpaceX’s Stumble Rattles OpenAI’s Wall Street Ambitions
CEO Sam Altman has fiercely pushed advisers to achieve a $1 trillion valuation for the ChatGPT maker a steep climb from its last private funding round, which valued the company between $730 billion and $852 billion. However, market conditions have since complicated that ambition.
The trigger: SpaceX shattered records with its June 2026 IPO, raising over $85 billion and capturing a $1.77 trillion valuation at debut. Yet its shares have since declined to $153 from a peak of $202, with investors questioning whether commercial returns from generative AI can keep pace with the enormous infrastructure costs required to build it.
Advisers presented Altman with two stark choices wait until 2027 to allow markets to stabilize and let financials mature into a $1 trillion valuation, or accept a lower price tag for a faster 2026 listing. A source in direct contact with Altman confirmed he firmly rejected any compromise on the trillion-dollar figure.
CFO Sarah Friar has reportedly urged waiting until 2027, citing massive ongoing cash burn, compute infrastructure commitments, and the burden of public reporting. OpenAI’s monthly revenue has hit $2 billion, but spending continues to outpace it.
Meanwhile, rival Anthropic filed its confidential S-1 with the SEC on June 1, targeting an October 2026 Nasdaq debut at a $965 billion valuation, with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters. Bankers have told both companies that whoever lists first will define the new industry benchmark a race OpenAI now appears set to cede.
OpenAI’s odds of a 2026 IPO on Polymarket tumbled below 30% following the report, down from over 50% before it broke.
