OpenAI Files for Confidential IPO, Awaits Public Listing

OpenAI has filed a confidential S-1 with the SEC, signaling its intent to pursue an initial public offering. The decision allows the company flexibility to potentially go public at a later date, with OpenAI citing the need to stay private for some operations.

OpenAI filed a confidential S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on June 8, 2026, marking a pivotal step toward a public listing . The company confirmed the filing in a brief statement on its website, noting wryly: "We recently submitted a confidential S-1. We expect it to leak so we're just announcing it." No listing date has been set — OpenAI says it "has not decided on timing yet," with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley cited as lead underwriters ahead of a potential Q4 2026 or early 2027 debut.

The financial profile behind the filing is substantial. OpenAI generated $13.1 billion in revenue in 2025 and has since accelerated to a $24 billion annualized run-rate as of April 2026 — roughly $2 billion per month. ChatGPT now has over 900 million weekly active users and approximately 50 million paying subscribers. The company has raised over $170 billion in cumulative private funding and carries a post-money valuation of $852 billion from its March 2026 funding round, though it remains cash flow negative due to infrastructure and model training costs.

The confidential filing arrives one week after rival Anthropic submitted its own draft S-1 at a reported $965 billion valuation, framing what analysts are calling a twin-IPO race in AI. Two legal headwinds were also cleared in the weeks prior: a jury verdict in May validated OpenAI's Public Benefit Corporation restructuring, and Elon Musk's lawsuit was dismissed just two days before the filing. Investors watching the AI sector will be closely tracking whether OpenAI chooses to list before Anthropic — and what pricing the market assigns to a company still burning capital even as revenue compounds.