On June 8, 2026, an anonymous SEC filing appeared in public view -- OpenAI had secretly submitted its S-1 draft for an initial public offering. This wasn't a leak but rather a provision under the 2012 JOBS Act, which allows private technology companies to secretly file S-1 documents up to 120 days before publicly announcing their IPO plans.
The Trajectory from Non-Profit to Public Company
OpenAI's story began in 2015, founded by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman as a non-profit organization to promote "safe and responsible" AI advancement. However, in 2019 OpenAI introduced a for-profit subsidiary, OpenAI Global LLC, laying the groundwork for commercialization. By 2023, ChatGPT's explosion made OpenAI the world's most watched tech company, and its capital needs grew dramatically.
Microsoft is OpenAI's most important strategic investor, with cumulative investments exceeding $30 billion. This massive investment not only provided computing infrastructure for ChatGPT but also provided implicit endorsement for OpenAI's IPO. The market generally estimates Microsoft will receive no less than 12% of OpenAI's shares in the IPO.
Trillion-Dollar Valuation: Ambition or Bubble?
Based on information disclosed in the S-1 draft, OpenAI expects a share price between $300 and $350, potentially raising $80 billion to $100 billion. If the offering proceeds smoothly, OpenAI's valuation would exceed $1.2 trillion, becoming the most valuable company in human history.
Yet this valuation is not without controversy. Goldman Sachs' latest report notes that based on current revenue growth and margins, OpenAI is valued approximately 35% above fair value. As of the end of 2025, OpenAI's annual revenue was approximately $7.4 billion, a year-over-year increase of over 400%, but still falling short of the revenue levels needed to justify a trillion-dollar valuation.
Regulatory Hurdles: The First Blueprint for AI Industry Listings
OpenAI's IPO also faces unique regulatory challenges. As an AI company, its core business model -- large-scale training and deployment of language models -- is subject to increasing regulatory scrutiny worldwide. The EU AI Act is already in enforcement, and the U.S. Congress is debating AI safety legislation. If OpenAI becomes the first listed AI giant, how much information about its model safety will it disclose in the SEC prospectus? This question has drawn widespread attention from Wall Street and regulators.
For retail investors, OpenAI's IPO is both an opportunity and a test. It will demonstrate to the market where the commercialization ceiling of the AI industry lies, and will largely determine capital's attitude toward the AI sector in the coming years. This drama has only just begun.