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.
Timeline at a glance
- October 2024
October 2024 round
$6.6B at a $157B valuation, led by Thrive Capital, on condition that OpenAI restructure.
- March 2025
SoftBank-led round
OpenAI raises $40B at a $300B valuation, then a record private round.
- October 2025
Recapitalization
Converts to OpenAI Group PBC under the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation; employee share sale at about $500B.
- March 31, 2026
$122B round closes
$122B committed at an $852B post-money valuation, including $3B from individual investors.
- 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.
- May 2026
Musk lawsuit rejected
A jury finds Elon Musk waited too long to challenge the for-profit shift.
- June 8, 2026
Confidential S-1 filed
OpenAI submits a confidential draft S-1 to the SEC.
- September 2026
2026 listing ruled out
Sam Altman says going public now would be ill-advised given concerns about AI safety.
- TBD
Public S-1
First public disclosure of audited financials, risks and governance, at least 15 days before the roadshow.
- TBD
Roadshow & pricing
Marketing to institutional investors, then the price and share count are set.
- TBD
Trading begins
Shares list on a public exchange under a yet-unknown ticker.
From confidential filing to first trade
A US IPO follows a fixed sequence. OpenAI has taken the first step and then paused.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 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 has been reported to want a valuation above $1 trillion at listing, against $852 billion in the March 2026 round. Reports in September 2026 described early talks with private investors at even higher figures, which would let OpenAI keep raising money 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.
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.
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.
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 on a similar path, with its own confidential S-1 on file. More on Anthropic's IPO timeline and how to invest is available at Anthropic Stock.