What the OpenAI and Anthropic IPO moves mean
OpenAI and Anthropic’s pursuit of public listings marks a turning point in how investors value, fund, and judge the long‑term prospects of large AI startups building generative models. OpenAI has confidentially filed for a US IPO after earlier fundraising at an estimated valuation that could climb toward the trillion‑dollar range, while Anthropic has also filed confidentially following a funding round that reportedly valued it at hundreds of billions. Together, these OpenAI IPO filing and Anthropic IPO plans signal that the largest AI labs are ready to test their lofty valuations in public markets. Their transition from private funding rounds to startup public offerings will force more transparency on cash burn, margins, and growth assumptions, and will set new reference points for AI company valuations that earlier‑stage founders and investors will have to take seriously.
Dissecting OpenAI’s positioning in the public market spotlight
Financial analysts see OpenAI’s confidential move as both offensive and defensive. Wedbush’s Dan Ives said the filing shows “the floodgates for the IPO market are officially open,” as OpenAI and Anthropic race to raise large sums and cement leadership. OpenAI has said it was raising USD 110 billion (approx. RM506 billion) at an USD 840 billion (approx. RM3.86 trillion) valuation from investors such as SoftBank, Amazon, and Nvidia, and reported more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers for ChatGPT. Those numbers help justify aggressive AI company valuations, but public investors will want clarity on profitability timelines, capital expenditure, and dependence on partners. Some market voices even argue Anthropic’s profitability and enterprise focus may give it an advantage, which raises the stakes for how OpenAI explains its strategy once public reporting begins.
Anthropic IPO plans and the emerging valuation benchmark
Anthropic’s IPO plans position it as a direct comparator to OpenAI on both technology and financial discipline. After a funding round that valued the company at USD 965 billion (approx. RM4.43 trillion), its confidential filing puts that figure in the spotlight. Portfolio manager Dan Niles has highlighted Anthropic’s profitability in a recent quarter and said its revenues are “ramping like nothing you’ve ever seen in history for a company of that size,” arguing it could emerge as the preferred pick for corporate AI buyers. For investors, the parallel listings will create a real‑time test of different AI business models and will likely define the upper bound of startup public offerings for some time. Whichever company wins more confidence will shape how later‑stage AI firms pitch their own growth, margins, and capital needs to the market.
Perplexity’s 2028 IPO target shows confidence beyond the giants
Perplexity’s CEO Aravind Srinivas has stated that the company is targeting an IPO in 2028 “agnostic” of how OpenAI and Anthropic trade. That stance signals confidence that strong AI company valuations will persist beyond the first wave of mega‑listings and that public markets will support differentiated models, such as AI search. Perplexity, last valued at USD 20 billion (approx. RM92 billion) after a USD 200 million (approx. RM920 million) round, competes with both traditional search engines and AI‑powered browsers. Srinivas has warned there will be “ripple effects” if the larger IPOs disappoint but also argued that their success would fund more frontier model research, which in turn benefits products like Perplexity’s “Computer” AI agent. For mid‑stage founders, this suggests IPO windows will depend on sector sentiment, yet credible paths remain even if giants stumble.
How simultaneous AI IPOs reshape the broader funding landscape
The clustering of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX (which includes xAI) IPO activity shows unprecedented investor hunger for AI exposure and a shift away from private‑only funding cycles. Decision Tree Research’s Gregory Allen has noted that valuations for companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX, in the ballpark of a trillion dollars, imply expectations of “an annuity that kicks out USD 45 billion (approx. RM207 billion) a year every year forever.” Such expectations will influence every late‑stage term sheet, secondary sale, and AI‑focused fund strategy. If these startup public offerings debut strongly, more AI firms may accelerate filings, helping retail investors participate rather than leaving gains to private markets. Weak receptions, however, could compress multiples, tighten capital for compute‑heavy projects, and push younger AI startups to prove revenue quality long before they dream of listing.
