OpenAI Prepares to Go Public with Historic Offering Expected This Week
San Francisco, Wednesday, 20 May 2026.
With a staggering $850 billion valuation, OpenAI is preparing to file for a public offering this Friday, a historic move set to reshape the artificial intelligence investment landscape.
The Road to the Public Markets and Financial Scale
The San Francisco-headquartered artificial intelligence giant, tracked under the Bloomberg ticker 1554630D:US, is currently collaborating with leading investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to draft its initial public offering prospectus [1][2][7]. Reports indicate this confidential filing could be submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as this Friday, May 22, 2026 [1][2]. While OpenAI representatives have stated that the company regularly evaluates strategic options and remains focused on execution, preparations have reportedly been underway for a potential public market debut targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026 [alert! ‘Exact IPO date is contingent upon SEC review and market conditions’][1][2].
The financial scale of this impending offering is unprecedented in the technology sector [GPT]. Private investors currently value OpenAI between $850 billion and $852 billion [2][7]. This astronomical valuation follows a historic $122 billion funding round closed in March 2026, which included heavyweight backers such as Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Softbank, and Andreessen Horowitz [7]. From a revenue perspective, the company generated $13.1 billion last year and currently pulls in $2 billion per month—translating to an annualized run rate of 24 billion [7]. Despite these massive cash inflows, the firm remains unprofitable