What the AI IPO rush is and why it matters
The AI IPO rush is the rapid movement of major artificial intelligence startups from predominantly private funding toward stock market listings, revealing both investor appetite for AI and how mature the sector has become. OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity now sit at the center of this shift, with each company signaling a different stage of AI market development. OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US initial public offering, while Anthropic has also submitted confidential paperwork after a large funding round. Perplexity’s CEO, Aravind Srinivas, has meanwhile set a 2028 target for a public debut, positioning the company on a longer glide path. Taken together, these moves suggest that private capital is no longer the only preferred route for AI growth and that public markets want direct exposure to headline AI startup valuations.
OpenAI and Anthropic: Testing the AI IPO market
OpenAI’s confidential US IPO filing places the ChatGPT maker at the front of the AI IPO market, alongside rival Anthropic. The company has not disclosed deal size or terms and has said there is no fixed timeline, noting that some plans “are likely easier as a private company.” Reuters has reported that OpenAI is targeting a valuation of up to USD 1 trillion (approx. RM4.6 trillion), after earlier funding that sought USD 110 billion (approx. RM506 billion) at an USD 840 billion (approx. RM3.86 trillion) valuation. Anthropic, developer of Claude Code, has also filed confidentially after a funding round that valued it at USD 965 billion (approx. RM4.44 trillion). These eye-catching AI startup valuations mean the two offerings are widely seen as early indicators of whether public investors accept near‑trillion‑dollar prices for AI leaders.
Perplexity’s 2028 plan: A deliberate path to a public listing
While OpenAI and Anthropic move toward near‑term offerings, Perplexity is mapping a slower route to a Perplexity public listing. CEO Aravind Srinivas told CNBC that, “agnostic of these two companies, we were planning for something in 2028, so that still remains the case,” even while stressing that it is important for the AI industry that their IPOs perform well. Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine and browser competitor, was last valued at USD 20 billion (approx. RM92 billion) after a USD 200 million (approx. RM920 million) round. Its products, including the Comet browser and the “Computer” AI agent, show a focus on applied AI services rather than pure frontier model development. By targeting an IPO one or two years after further progress and competition, Perplexity is betting that the AI IPO market will still be open once early leaders have set the benchmarks.
From private mega-rounds to public market validation
The clustering of OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity and SpaceX IPO plans points to a structural shift: high-growth tech firms no longer rely only on private mega-rounds to fund expansion. OpenAI’s huge user base, including more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers, helps explain why public investors are eager for exposure. At the same time, Srinivas has called the forthcoming SpaceX IPO a “leading indicator” of how OpenAI or Anthropic might fare, underlining how market sentiment can ripple across advanced technology names. If these offerings price well and trade steadily, public markets could become the preferred way to validate AI startup valuations. If they disappoint, late-stage private funding may face tougher questions on growth assumptions, cash needs and realistic exit paths.
