IPO tracker

The OpenAI IPO: where things stand

OpenAI confidentially filed a draft S-1 with the SEC on June 8, 2026, a week after Anthropic and days before SpaceX listed. In September 2026 Sam Altman said OpenAI would not go public this year, calling it an ill-advised moment given concerns about AI safety; 2027 is now the likeliest window. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are reported to be leading the process. No date, share count, price or ticker has been set.

Current stageConfidential S-1 filed
S-1 filedJune 8, 2026 (confidential)
TickerNot yet assigned
Price / share countNot set
Lead banksGoldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (reported)
Expected listing2027 (Altman ruled out 2026)

Timeline at a glance

  1. October 2024

    October 2024 round

    $6.6B at a $157B valuation, led by Thrive Capital, on condition that OpenAI restructure.

  2. March 2025

    SoftBank-led round

    OpenAI raises $40B at a $300B valuation, then a record private round.

  3. October 2025

    Recapitalization

    Converts to OpenAI Group PBC under the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation; employee share sale at about $500B.

  4. March 31, 2026

    $122B round closes

    $122B committed at an $852B post-money valuation, including $3B from individual investors.

  5. April 2026

    Microsoft terms reset

    Exclusivity ends; OpenAI can sell on any cloud, Microsoft stops sharing revenue with OpenAI, and OpenAI's payments to Microsoft are capped through 2030.

  6. May 2026

    Musk lawsuit rejected

    A jury finds Elon Musk waited too long to challenge the for-profit shift.

  7. June 8, 2026

    Confidential S-1 filed

    OpenAI submits a confidential draft S-1 to the SEC.

  8. September 2026

    2026 listing ruled out

    Sam Altman says going public now would be ill-advised given concerns about AI safety.

  9. November 5, 2026

    IPO-ready in 2027

    President Greg Brockman says OpenAI could be ready to go public in 2027.

  10. November 6, 2026

    $1.25T round

    A first close of about $11B values OpenAI at $1.25 trillion, above the level Altman was reported to want at listing.

  11. TBD

    Public S-1

    First public disclosure of audited financials, risks and governance, at least 15 days before the roadshow.

  12. TBD

    Roadshow & pricing

    Marketing to institutional investors, then the price and share count are set.

  13. TBD

    Trading begins

    Shares list on a public exchange under a yet-unknown ticker.

How it works

From confidential filing to first trade

A US IPO follows a fixed sequence. OpenAI has taken the first step and then paused.

  1. Confidential review

    Companies can send the SEC a draft registration statement in private. SEC staff comment, the company revises, and the public sees nothing. OpenAI filed on June 8, 2026, and a confidential filing does not oblige it to list.

  2. Public S-1

    The company must publish its registration statement, with the earlier drafts, at least 15 days before it starts marketing the shares. That is when outsiders first see audited numbers.

  3. Roadshow

    Management and the banks pitch the offering to large investors, usually over one to two weeks, and use the demand to set the final price.

  4. Pricing and allocation

    The evening before trading, the price is fixed and shares are allocated. Most go to institutions; how many reach individual investors depends on the banks and brokers involved.

  5. First trade and lockup

    Shares start trading the next morning, and anyone with a broker that offers the exchange can buy them. Existing holders are usually barred from selling for a lockup period, often 180 days.

What has been reported

What we know about the plans

OpenAI has confirmed that it filed and, through Sam Altman, that it will not list in 2026. Most of the rest comes from press reports.

Timing. Early reports pointed to a listing in late 2026. Within weeks of the filing, The New York Times reported that OpenAI was leaning towards 2027, and in September 2026 Altman told Fortune that going public now would be an ill-advised moment given everything happening with AI safety. 2027 is now the likeliest window.

Valuation. Altman was reported to want a valuation above $1 trillion at listing. OpenAI got there privately first: its November 2026 round valued it at $1.25 trillion, below the roughly $1.4 trillion reported in September, a figure OpenAI's CFO said came from a media report rather than the company. Raising that much privately lets OpenAI keep funding itself without listing.

Banks and structure. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are reported to be working on the offering. The structure brings questions no other large IPO has faced: the board is appointed by a nonprofit that owns about a quarter of the shares, Microsoft holds about 27%, and parts of Amazon's investment are tied to conditions that reports link to an IPO.

The price tag

What could OpenAI be worth at its IPO?

The latest reference point is private: $1.25T in OpenAI's November 2026 round, at $992.06 a share. An IPO price is set differently. The banks gauge demand from large investors during the roadshow and price the shares the evening before trading, so the listing valuation can land above or below the last private round.

Two things will weigh on that price that a private round can ignore. Public investors will see audited losses and the full schedule of compute commitments for the first time, and they will be buying a company whose board is appointed by a nonprofit. Against that, OpenAI would be one of the largest technology listings on record, which tends to draw index funds and long-term holders.

Every round and tender offer price so far is on OpenAI's share price page.

The prospectus

What the public S-1 will tell us

The S-1 will replace estimates and leaks with audited figures. These are the parts worth reading first.

Revenue by business

How much comes from consumer subscriptions, enterprise, the API and advertising, and how fast each is growing, in place of the run-rate figures quoted so far.

Losses and cash burn

OpenAI has said it expects to lose money for several years. The S-1 will show the actual losses, stock-based compensation and how long its cash lasts.

Compute obligations

The contractual commitments to Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, CoreWeave, AMD, Broadcom, Cerebras and Stargate, laid out by year.

Microsoft terms

The exact revenue share, its cap and the rights Microsoft keeps to OpenAI's technology through 2032.

Foundation control

How the OpenAI Foundation's power to appoint the board works for public shareholders, and what the foundation's warrant could add to its stake.

Risk factors

Litigation over training data, safety and regulatory exposure, competition from Anthropic and Google, and dependence on a few suppliers.

Taking part

Can you buy OpenAI shares at the IPO?

At the IPO price itself, probably only in small amounts, if at all. Most shares in a large offering go to institutions, and individual investors get access only through brokers that receive an allocation, which varies by country. OpenAI did let individuals in through banks for the first time in its March 2026 round, which suggests it wants retail investors involved.

From the first trade, yes. Once the shares list, anyone with a broker that offers the exchange can buy them at the market price. Until then the only way to get exposure through a normal brokerage account is indirect, through listed companies such as Microsoft, SoftBank and Nvidia.

Our how to buy guide covers both routes and will be updated with trading details once a ticker is set.

OpenAI's IPO and Anthropic's

Anthropic is a step ahead. It filed its S-1 publicly in October 2026 to list on Nasdaq, while OpenAI has only a confidential draft with the SEC. That makes Anthropic's listing the first public price for one of the two leading AI labs, and a reference point OpenAI's banks will use.

The two compared on valuation, revenue and IPO status: OpenAI vs Anthropic.

OpenAI IPO questions

When is the OpenAI IPO date?

There is no date. OpenAI filed a confidential draft S-1 on June 8, 2026, Sam Altman ruled out a listing in 2026, and Greg Brockman has said OpenAI could be ready in 2027. A date follows the public S-1, usually within weeks.

What will OpenAI's ticker symbol be?

It has not been announced. The ticker and the exchange appear on the cover of the public S-1. Until then, any ticker shown for OpenAI is a guess or belongs to something else.

What price will OpenAI shares IPO at?

No price has been set; it is fixed the evening before trading starts. The most recent private price is on our share price page, along with every earlier round.

Will OpenAI list on Nasdaq or the NYSE?

OpenAI has not said, and the banks reported to be working on the offering have not either. The choice is stated in the public S-1.

What to watch for

The next big catalyst is the public S-1. Until then, set alerts and follow our daily updates, where we log every filing and report as it lands. When a ticker and price are set, this page and our how to buy guide will update with live trading details.

Anthropic is further along: it filed its S-1 publicly in October 2026. More on Anthropic's IPO and how to buy on the day is available at Anthropic Stock.