SAN FRANCISCO, June 2, 2026, 06:06 (PDT)
Anthropic has quietly submitted paperwork for a U.S. IPO, putting itself ahead of OpenAI in the scramble among AI firms seeking access to public capital. The Claude developer’s confidential filing now puts pressure on OpenAI, whose own IPO plans remain in limbo, sharpening the race to establish the first Wall Street benchmark for the industry.
This filing is significant at this stage, as investors could be looking at audited financials from a “frontier AI” company for the first time — the kind that develops cutting-edge models capable of writing code, responding to queries, and tackling jobs that typically require human intelligence. Anthropic noted it hasn’t determined the share count or price yet, adding that a potential offering would hinge on market conditions and various other considerations. Anthropic
OpenAI is gearing up to make a confidential U.S. IPO filing in the weeks ahead, with an eye toward hitting the market as soon as September, according to Reuters last month, citing sources close to the process. The ChatGPT developer’s most recent valuation came in at $852 billion. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been brought in to help craft a draft prospectus.
OpenAI hasn’t filed for an IPO. CEO Sam Altman described an IPO as just a “financing event” in comments to CNBC on Monday, according to Business Insider, adding that timing isn’t the company’s priority. Altman said what matters is winning on technology and business execution. Business Insider
Anthropic isn’t the only force at play here. According to Reuters, SpaceX plans to kick off its IPO roadshow on June 4, with a Nasdaq debut set for June 12—a move that lines up three major private firms vying for big-ticket investor attention, all within days of each other.
Anthropic is tapping into heated appetite for AI and growth names while the window’s still wide, said Kat Liu, vice president at IPO research outfit IPOX. Harrison Rolfes, a senior analyst at PitchBook, noted the company grabbed the narrative edge, though also stepped out first to face the exposure that comes with disclosure.
That’s the whole idea behind the disclosure risk. Public filings expose details like revenue quality, computing expenses, and how concentrated a company’s customer base actually is—critical in a sector where private valuations have outpaced traditional earnings metrics.
OpenAI continues to operate at a scale that’s hard for most competitors to touch. ChatGPT is logging upwards of 900 million weekly users, and the company reported over 50 million paid consumer subscribers earlier this year, per Reuters. Still, OpenAI has tweaked its product plans as pressure from Google and Anthropic has mounted.
A confidential filing, though, doesn’t lock in a deal—or a price. Morningstar analysts on Tuesday pegged SpaceX’s value at $780 billion, far below the $1.75 trillion level the company is aiming for. They also flagged murky economics in parts of SpaceX’s AI business, pointing to competitive pressure from OpenAI and Anthropic.
The latest surge in IPOs is pushing the limits of just how much unprofitable growth investors are willing to absorb all at once. Back in April, Reuters noted that SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic together could tack on roughly $3 trillion to U.S. stock market value—despite all three posting losses. That’s hardly the norm for firms of their scale eyeing an IPO.
Anthropic’s filing puts OpenAI in a tricky spot. Altman’s group might have to pick up the pace, or just sit tight while the market takes in Anthropic’s figures. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria flagged the massive capital appetite across SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, warning it could shake up the market. Jumping in early, he said, would be “a great advantage.” Reuters
