![OpenAI IPO: The Trillion-Dollar Question](https://cdn.slatesource.com/b/4/6/b464a2ca-103e-47af-9eaf-6f60e6c111c0.webp) # OpenAI IPO: The Trillion-Dollar Question - [Made in Slatesource](https://slatesource.com/@steph/openai-ipo-the-trillion-dollar-question) - By [Steph](https://slatesource.com/@steph) - Created on Aug 5, 2026 ## The BiggestBiggest TechTech IPOIPO in HistoryHistory OpenAIOpenAI filedfiled a confidentialconfidential S-1S-1 with the SECSEC on JuneJune 8, 20262026, targetingtargeting a NYSENYSE debutdebut as earlyearly as SeptemberSeptember 20262026. GoldmanGoldman SachsSachs, MorganMorgan StanleyStanley, and JPMorganJPMorgan are leadingleading the dealdeal. At the lastlast privateprivate valuationvaluation of $852852 billionbillion, an opening-dayopening-day rallyrally pastpast $1 trilliontrillion is what analystsanalysts expectexpect. If it getsgets therethere, it wouldwould be worthworth moremore than everyevery companycompany in the S and P 500500 exceptexcept AppleApple and MicrosoftMicrosoft, the very firmfirm that ownsowns 27% of it. Target IPO valuation $730B to $852B (private round March 2026) Annualized revenue (Feb 2026) $25 billion (up from $2B in late 2023) Monthly revenue run rate $2 billion per month ChatGPT weekly active users 600 million Q1 2026 cash burn $3.7 billion in one quarter 2026 projected operating loss $14 billion Year profitability is expected approximately 2030 journey·5 Milestones # From Nonprofit to the NYSE Chapter / Milestone "Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, and Ilya Sutskever co-found OpenAI in San Francisco with a $1 billion pledge from backers including Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman. The stated mission: ensure artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. There are no investors to answer to and no revenue to generate. "OpenAI releases GPT-3, a 175-billion parameter language model that stuns developers worldwide. Microsoft invests $1 billion, taking an exclusive API license. Almost overnight, OpenAI shifts from a pure-research lab into a product company with a paying customer of consequence. "ChatGPT launches on November 30, 2022, and reaches 100 million users faster than any product in internet history, beating TikTok's record by months. Revenue hits $1 billion in 2023. Silicon Valley scrambles to respond. "The OpenAI board fires Sam Altman. Staff revolt, most of the company threatens to resign and follow him to Microsoft. Five days later, Altman returns as CEO. Microsoft, which had already committed $13 billion, emerges as the indispensable partner whose investment essentially preserved the company. "OpenAI completes its conversion from a hybrid nonprofit to OpenAI Group PBC, a Delaware public benefit corporation. The move was a legal prerequisite for any public listing and required negotiation with the nonprofit foundation, which retains a 26% equity stake. Microsoft's stake is roughly 27% on a diluted basis, the product of a $13 billion multi-year investment. Under their revenue-sharing agreement, Microsoft receives approximately 20% of OpenAI's top-line revenue until the investment is recouped. That clause affects every IPO valuation model. Anthropic filed its own confidential S-1 on June 1, 2026, targeting a valuation of $965 billion. If both companies list in the same window, institutional investors may be forced to choose between them, which could compress valuations for one or both. The $14 billion projected 2026 operating loss is not a rounding error. OpenAI's inference costs alone are expected to reach $14 billion this year, up from $8.4 billion in 2025. Every ChatGPT query, every API call, costs real compute. The company's bet is that revenue grows faster than those costs, but it has not happened yet at scale. What Every Investor Should Know Before the IPO 0% \- \[x\] Confidential S-1 filed June 8, 2026 with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan \- \[x\] Last private valuation: $852 billion (March 2026 funding round, $122 billion raised) \- \[x\] Revenue: $25B annualized (Feb 2026), growing at 4x the pace Alphabet and Meta did at this stage \- \[x\] Not profitable: losses of $14 billion projected for 2026; profitability target is ~2030 \- \[ \] Public S-1 and roadshow expected in August 2026 (not yet filed) \- \[ \] NYSE listing window: Labor Day to Thanksgiving 2026 \- \[ \] Microsoft's 27% stake and 20% revenue share clause must be disclosed in full S-1 \- \[ \] Anthropic competing IPO in same window could split institutional demand > The implied 35x forward revenue multiple is priced for a monopoly outcome that does not yet exist. [CNBC: OpenAI confidentially files for IPO, prepping Wall Street for mega AI debut](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/08/openai-confidentially-files-for-ipo-prepping-wall-street-for-ai-debut.html?utm_source=slatesource) [Inside OpenAI's Confidential SEC IPO Filing: Valuation, Financials and Risks](https://www.indmoney.com/blog/us-stocks/openai-ipo-valuation-financials-risks?utm_source=slatesource)