OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, is reportedly leaning towards delaying its initial public offering (IPO) until 2027. This potential delay is primarily driven by current volatility in tech stocks and the company's ambition to achieve a $1 trillion valuation. Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, is said to consider any valuation lower than $1 trillion a "nonstarter," even though the company's last private valuation was $730 billion.
Advisers have presented OpenAI with two options: a quicker IPO at a lower valuation or waiting until 2027 to pursue the $1 trillion target. The recent performance of public tech markets, including the lackluster debut of SpaceX shares which saw a significant drop after reaching a high of $202 and closing at $153, has made advisers cautious about retail investor enthusiasm for an early OpenAI offering. OpenAI has confidentially filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, stating that while they haven't committed to a timeline, this gives them the option to go public sooner if beneficial.
The potential delay has economic implications for major investors and financial institutions. SoftBank Group, a significant investor in OpenAI, saw its shares fall as much as 12% on June 26 following the news. There were expectations of a substantial financial windfall from OpenAI's public debut, which had previously boosted SoftBank's market capitalization above Toyota Motor in May. For banks like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, a delayed IPO means a postponed payday from advisory and underwriting fees on what would be one of the largest tech IPOs in recent history, potentially impacting their short-term revenue forecasts. This also affects rival AI firms like Anthropic, which had confidentially filed to go public around the same time as OpenAI and was reportedly targeting a late 2026 debut after raising funding at a $965 billion valuation.
