OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has filed confidential preliminary paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), taking a significant step toward a potential initial public offering (IPO).
The San Francisco-based artificial intelligence firm announced Monday that it had submitted confidential registration documents to the SEC, though it has not yet determined a timeline for going public.
“We have not decided on timing yet,” the company said in a statement, adding that remaining private still offers advantages for some of its planned initiatives. However, the filing provides flexibility to pursue a public listing sooner if deemed beneficial.
The move follows a similar announcement by rival AI company Anthropic earlier this month and comes as Elon Musk’s SpaceX also advances plans for a stock market debut, highlighting growing investor interest in the rapidly expanding AI sector.
OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman first suggested the possibility of an IPO last year, describing it as the most likely path forward given the company's scale and substantial capital requirements.
Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit organization focused on developing artificial intelligence for public benefit, OpenAI has evolved into one of the world's most valuable technology companies, with an estimated valuation of $852 billion.
Industry analysts say the filing comes at a critical time as OpenAI faces increasing competition from rivals including Anthropic’s Claude chatbot and Google’s Gemini AI assistant.
“OpenAI doesn’t have many alternatives for raising the enormous capital required to support its operations,” said Emarketer analyst Nate Elliott.
The company paved the way for a potential public offering by restructuring its operations last year and converting into a public benefit corporation while remaining under nonprofit oversight.
OpenAI also overcame a major legal challenge last month when it secured a courtroom victory against co-founder Elon Musk, who had sought to block the company's transition to a for-profit structure.
The company has yet to publicly disclose its revenue figures or a timeline for profitability. Like many AI firms, it continues to spend heavily on infrastructure, research and development.
In an interview earlier this year, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said the company was already operating with the financial discipline expected of a publicly traded firm.
She noted that OpenAI’s current valuation would place it among the 15 largest companies in the S&P 500 index if it were publicly listed.
Separately, Altman outlined OpenAI’s long-term goals, including developing an automated AI researcher, accelerating global economic growth and eventually providing every person with access to advanced artificial intelligence capabilities.
He said the company is entering a new phase focused on broad distribution of AI benefits and ensuring that the economic gains generated by the technology are shared widely.
The announcement comes amid growing debate over the future ownership and regulation of AI companies, with some policymakers advocating broader public participation in the sector’s growth.