SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said Monday, June 8, 2026, that it has taken the first formal step toward selling its stock to the public. In a statement, the company said it had recently submitted a confidential S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the required registration document companies file before launching an initial public offering.

OpenAI said it has not yet determined the timing of a public listing and cautioned that an IPO may still be some time away.

A confidential filing allows a company to submit its financial information to regulators for review before publicly disclosing its financial statements and business details. For OpenAI, the process carries particular significance. The company is valued at more than $850 billion, making it one of the most valuable private companies in the world, yet it continues to invest heavily in computing infrastructure, advanced AI models, and the massive data-center capacity required to support its growing products.

The filing places additional attention on Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, who will ultimately have to persuade public-market investors that OpenAI can convert its enormous investments into sustainable profits. In a blog post Monday, Altman described the move as part of what he called the “third phase of OpenAI,” following its research phase and its product phase, during which hundreds of millions of users adopted ChatGPT and the company’s expanding suite of AI tools.

OpenAI is not entering the public markets alone.

Its chief rival, Anthropic, reportedly submitted confidential IPO paperwork roughly a week earlier, while SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, is expected to make its own highly anticipated public-market debut in the coming days at an estimated valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion.

The simultaneous march toward public markets by some of the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence and space technology companies marks a pivotal moment for investors. Each offering will provide new insight into how Wall Street values companies that are shaping the future of AI, cloud computing, automation, robotics, and advanced technologies.

The larger question is whether public investors are willing to support trillion-dollar valuations for companies that continue to spend aggressively on growth.

OpenAI has reportedly raised more than $180 billion and continues investing heavily in chips, data centers, research, and computing capacity. Various reports have suggested the company could seek a valuation exceeding $1 trillion when it eventually goes public, though OpenAI itself has not provided guidance on valuation expectations.

Reports have also suggested debate within the company regarding the pace of a public offering. While Altman has reportedly favored moving quickly toward a listing, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has emphasized preparing the company for the scrutiny and disclosure requirements that come with being publicly traded.

Earlier this year, Friar told CNBC that it is “good hygiene” for a company of OpenAI’s scale to operate as though it were already public, reflecting the growing expectations surrounding transparency, governance, and financial discipline.

One element that could resonate strongly with consumers is OpenAI’s reported interest in making a portion of any future stock offering available to individual retail investors rather than limiting participation solely to large institutions. Friar has previously suggested she hopes ordinary investors will eventually have the opportunity to own a stake in the company behind ChatGPT.

According to reports, OpenAI is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on preparations related to a potential public offering.

The confidential filing marks only the beginning of the process. Detailed financial disclosures will remain private until later stages of the SEC review process, and regulators may take weeks or months to evaluate the filing before OpenAI is permitted to begin formally marketing shares to investors.

For now, OpenAI has taken only the first formal step toward becoming a public company. But the filing signals that the artificial intelligence industry is entering a new chapter—one in which investors will increasingly demand not only technological breakthroughs, but also clear paths to profitability, sustainable growth, and returns on the enormous capital being invested in the AI race.

If OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX all reach public markets in the months ahead, the offerings could become one of the most consequential tests yet of investor appetite for the technologies reshaping the global economy.

JBizNews Desk

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