Last updated: June 5, 2026 – Based on Anthropic’s June 1 Rule 135 announcement, OpenAI’s published PBC structure plus Axios reporting, SpaceX’s public S-1 (May 20), S-1/A amendments (June 1 and June 3) on SEC EDGAR, and follow-on coverage from CNBC, Reuters, Fortune, Bloomberg and TechCrunch.
The AI IPOs 2026 wave is here: three of the most valuable private companies in AI are moving toward public markets at once. As of June 5, 2026, SpaceX has a public Form S-1 and amended S-1/A on EDGAR (ticker SPCX, Nasdaq), including an expected $135 IPO price and about 555.6M shares offered; Anthropic has officially announced a confidential draft S-1 after a $965B valuation; and OpenAI has no official filing but is reported to be preparing a confidential prospectus. Only SpaceX has disclosed audited financials, ticker and pricing terms so far. The others have given the market structure and signal, not numbers.
This is analysis, not investment advice. Two of these three companies have no public prospectus, and the third still has blanks in its preliminary filing. Treat every valuation and date below as reported or contemplated, not confirmed, and read the final prospectus before acting on any of it.
Which AI companies are going public in 2026?
The 2026 AI IPO story is not one filing. It is a cluster of three landmark issuers – Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX – that each represent a different layer of the AI stack: the frontier lab, the consumer-and-platform giant, and the physical infrastructure provider. They are at three different stages of the same process, and confusing those stages is the most common mistake in the current coverage.
Only one of them – SpaceX – has filed a public registration statement with audited financials. Anthropic has done the formal-but-quiet step of announcing a confidential draft S-1. OpenAI has done neither publicly; the reporting around it is credible, but it is reporting, not a filing. The table below is the fastest way to keep the three apart.
| Company | IPO status (June 5, 2026) | What the market can actually see today |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | Public S-1 filed May 20; S-1/A amendments filed June 1 and June 3 | Audited financials, segment data, ticker (SPCX), exchange, share classes, directed share program and expected $135 IPO price |
| Anthropic | Confidential draft S-1 officially announced June 1 | Only a Rule 135 announcement; no financials, ticker, price or date are public yet |
| OpenAI | No official filing; confidential prep reported by Axios (May 20) | Corporate structure (OpenAI Group PBC) only; no company-confirmed IPO clock |
Read for the full single-company breakdowns: SpaceX IPO S-1 explained, Anthropic’s confidential S-1 explained, and the OpenAI IPO and PBC structure.
Anthropic vs OpenAI vs SpaceX: the side-by-side comparison
Here is the one comparison the news cycle keeps fragmenting across separate stories. The numbers come from each company’s own disclosures where they exist, and from reported figures (clearly labelled) where they do not.
| Dimension | SpaceX | Anthropic | OpenAI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filing status | Public S-1 + S-1/A on EDGAR | Confidential draft S-1 (announced) | No official filing (reported prep) |
| Ticker / exchange | SPCX, Nasdaq + Nasdaq Texas | Not set | Not set |
| Valuation (reference) | ~$1.75T implied target at $135/share; ~$75B gross raise | $965B post-money (Series H, May 28) | ~$730B-$840B reported private rounds |
| Revenue signal | $18.674B FY2025 revenue (audited) | Run-rate revenue reported crossing $47B in May | Not disclosed; estimates only |
| Profitability | $2.589B FY2025 operating loss; $6.584B Adj. EBITDA | Not disclosed | Not disclosed; reported heavy losses |
| Control structure | Class A (1 vote) / Class B (10 votes), Musk controls | Public benefit corporation (Anthropic, PBC) | OpenAI Group PBC, controlled by OpenAI Foundation |
| Key outside stakeholder | xAI (acquired Feb 2026), Starlink as cash engine | Large compute partners; safety-governance story | Microsoft ~27% stake; Stargate compute |
| Reported timing | Reported debut window around mid-June 2026 | Reported listing window around October 2026 | “Later in 2026 if markets allow” (reported) |
Anthropic’s $965B is a real, company-confirmed private post-money valuation from its May 28 Series H, not an IPO price. SpaceX’s $1.75T-$2T and OpenAI’s $730B-$840B are reported figures from financing rounds and banker chatter. None of the three has a public IPO price range yet, so treat all three as anchors for discussion, not as the price you would pay.
Where is each company in the IPO process?
SpaceX: the only public filing
SpaceX is the furthest along in the visible sense. Space Exploration Technologies Corp. filed a public Form S-1 on May 20, 2026, Amendment No. 1 on June 1 and another S-1/A on June 3. The June 3 filing added pricing terms: an expected $135.00 IPO price, about 555.6 million Class A shares, and roughly $74.4B of estimated net proceeds before any full underwriter option. The filing applies to list Class A stock on Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas under SPCX, discloses audited financials, and confirms a 5% directed share program whose shares carry no lock-up. At this point the SpaceX story is no longer just “reported valuation”; the price term is in an SEC filing.
Anthropic: confidential but official
Anthropic, PBC announced on June 1, 2026 that it confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the SEC for a proposed IPO of common stock. The announcement was made under Securities Act Rule 135, which means it is explicitly not an offer to sell securities. It came four days after Anthropic disclosed a $65 billion Series H at a $965 billion post-money valuation, said its run-rate revenue had crossed $47 billion in May, and shipped Claude Opus 4.8. The S-1 is real, but the financials, ticker, price and date are not public.
OpenAI: reported, not filed
OpenAI has the weakest paper trail of the three. There is no public S-1 and no Rule 135 notice as of June 5, 2026. Axios reported on May 20 that OpenAI was working on a confidential IPO prospectus that could be filed shortly, with timing fluid, and that OpenAI and SpaceX shared underwriting banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase). What is confirmed is the structure: following the October 28, 2025 recapitalization, the for-profit is OpenAI Group PBC, controlled by the OpenAI Foundation (a 26% stake valued around $130B at the recap), with Microsoft holding roughly 27%.
How can retail investors get exposure to AI IPOs?
This is the question driving most of the search traffic, and the honest answer is: it is harder than the headlines suggest, and it differs sharply by company. There are three realistic routes, in descending order of accessibility.
1. Buy on the open market after listing (SpaceX first)
The cleanest retail path is simply buying shares once a company lists. SpaceX is the only one of the three close to that. Coverage of the SpaceX deal indicates retail participation is being routed through mainstream brokers – reportedly Charles Schwab, Fidelity, Robinhood, SoFi and E*TRADE by Morgan Stanley – at the same IPO price as institutions. If you already hold a brokerage account, this is the lowest-friction route. If you are choosing one, our best online brokers for stock trading in 2026 guide covers fees, IPO access and account types.
2. Indirect exposure through public proxies
For Anthropic and OpenAI, which are not yet listed, the practical workaround is owning something public that owns them or sells to them. Microsoft’s roughly 27% stake means OpenAI economics are partly embedded in a stock anyone can buy. Picks-and-shovels names across compute, semiconductors and cloud also rise and fall with AI capex. This is exposure to the theme, not to the specific equity, and the correlation is loose.
3. Pre-IPO and private-market vehicles
A small number of listed closed-end funds and private-market platforms hold late-stage AI stakes, and some accredited-investor platforms offer secondary access to private shares. These carry their own risks: premiums or discounts to net asset value, limited liquidity, high fees and concentration. They are not a clean substitute for owning the company, and they are not suitable for everyone.
The most heavily marketed phrase in this cycle is “get in before the IPO.” For Anthropic and OpenAI there is no public way to do that as an ordinary retail investor. SpaceX’s directed share program is discretionary and not open to the general public. If a platform promises you guaranteed pre-IPO Anthropic or OpenAI shares, treat that as a red flag, not an opportunity.
AI IPOs 2026: what valuations are being discussed?
The valuation gap between these three is itself a story. A year ago, OpenAI was the obvious leader. As of June 2026, the rank order on headline value has scrambled.
- SpaceX is the largest visible deal. The June 3 S-1/A uses an expected $135.00 initial public offering price and about 555.6 million Class A shares, implying a gross raise of roughly $75B and a headline valuation around $1.75T depending on the share-count basis used.
- Anthropic reached a $965 billion post-money valuation in its May 28 Series H – a company-confirmed private mark that, per CNBC, edged past OpenAI as the most valuable AI startup.
- OpenAI has been reported across a wide band: Axios cited an $840 billion valuation including new capital in a February 2026 round (Amazon, Nvidia, SoftBank), while Bloomberg reported a $730 billion figure. Both are private financing values, not IPO prices.
The pattern: revenue-and-asset-heavy SpaceX commands the biggest number because investors can see Starlink cash flow; the pure-play labs are valued on growth and strategic position, with Anthropic now ahead of OpenAI on the latest private mark.
What are the biggest risks across these IPOs?
Different businesses, but several risks rhyme across all three. This is the section to read twice before any of these lists.
| Risk | Why it matters across AI IPOs |
|---|---|
| Compute cost vs margin | All three depend on enormous compute spend. The unresolved question is whether gross margins improve as usage scales, or whether each capability jump requires another capex wave. |
| Founder / controlled-company structure | SpaceX (Musk supervoting), Anthropic (PBC) and OpenAI (Foundation control) all limit ordinary public-shareholder power. That can protect long-term mission but is a pricing discount issue. |
| Concentration and related parties | OpenAI-Microsoft, SpaceX-xAI and large compute partnerships such as the Anthropic-SpaceX deal create related-party economics that the S-1s must spell out. |
| Regulation | The EU AI Act’s GPAI obligations, US state and federal AI rules, plus FAA/FCC/spectrum risk for SpaceX, all hit forward guidance. |
| Hype-cycle timing | Three mega-IPOs in one window test market appetite. If sentiment turns, later filers can delay, reprice or withdraw. |
| Disclosure gaps today | For two of three, you are reacting to signals, not prospectuses. Acting before the public S-1 means pricing a company you cannot yet read. |
Which AI IPO matters most for the market?
My read – and the part you will not find by aggregating the wire stories – is that these three IPOs are not competing for the same investor question, so “which is biggest” is the wrong frame. They answer three different questions, and the market needs all three answered.
SpaceX is the price-discovery event for AI infrastructure: it is the first time public investors get audited numbers on a company that sells the physical substrate (launch, satellites, spectrum, terrestrial and planned orbital compute) the rest of AI depends on. Anthropic’s eventual S-1 will be the cleanest frontier-lab disclosure ever – the first time the market sees what model revenue, inference cost and compute obligations actually look like for a pure safety-positioned lab. OpenAI’s filing, when it comes, will be the governance stress test: can a Foundation-controlled PBC with a 27%-Microsoft entanglement satisfy public-market accountability?
For a reader trying to act rationally, the sequencing matters more than the ranking. SpaceX prints first and sets the tone. Anthropic’s numbers will recalibrate how the market values every other lab, including the unlisted ones. OpenAI’s structure will decide how much “mission-control” discount public investors demand from AI issuers generally. Watch them as a sequence, not a horse race.
What to watch next
- SpaceX roadshow and effectiveness: the June 3 amendment filled the $135 expected price term; the next key step is SEC effectiveness, final pricing and first trading.
- Anthropic’s public S-1: the confidential draft must be publicly filed at least 15 days before a roadshow. That document will reveal Claude economics for the first time.
- OpenAI’s first official notice: a Rule 135 announcement would convert “reported” into “confirmed” and start a real clock.
- Market appetite: three mega-deals in one window is a stress test. If the first one prices weakly, the others can slip.
- Regulatory disclosures: how each S-1 frames EU AI Act GPAI obligations and US AI rules will shape forward guidance.
What could delay or derail each AI IPO
Each of the three carries a distinct failure mode. Knowing the specific risk per name is more useful than the generic “markets could turn” warning.
| Company | What could delay or reprice it | The one number to watch |
|---|---|---|
| SpaceX | A soft order book, a Starship test setback, Musk-related governance headlines, or a weak day-one print that chills the rest of the pipeline. The lock-up-free directed shares also add early float. | Starlink segment margin / free cash flow — the part that justifies the valuation. |
| Anthropic | The public S-1 must land at least 15 days before any roadshow. If the financials show inference cost eating gross margin, the $965B private mark compresses fast in public-market terms. | Gross margin trend — does serving Claude get cheaper as usage scales, or not? |
| OpenAI | No official clock yet; a Rule 135 notice would be the real start. The Microsoft entanglement and Foundation-controlled PBC structure invite governance scrutiny that can slow review. | Disclosed net loss and the Microsoft revenue-share / compute terms. |
The cross-cutting point: SpaceX is judged on cash it already earns, the labs are judged on whether their margins can ever catch their valuations. That is why SpaceX can price on audited numbers while Anthropic and OpenAI are still priced on narrative — and why the first lab S-1 to show real unit economics will move the entire sector’s pricing, up or down.
How the IPO process works: from S-1 to first trade
Most confusion in this cycle comes from not knowing where “confidential draft,” “public S-1” and “pricing” sit in the sequence. Here is the actual path a US IPO follows, which is the same for all three companies regardless of their different starting points:
- Confidential draft S-1. The company submits a draft registration statement to the SEC for non-public review (allowed for most issuers under the JOBS Act). The public sees nothing unless the company chooses to announce it under Rule 135 — which is exactly what Anthropic did.
- SEC review and comment letters. The SEC examines the draft and sends comment letters; the company amends and responds. This back-and-forth can take weeks to months and is invisible to the public.
- Public S-1 filing. The registration statement appears on EDGAR with audited financials, risk factors and offering terms. For emerging growth companies, the public filing must occur at least 15 days before the roadshow begins. SpaceX is at this stage.
- S-1/A amendments & price range. The company files amendments (S-1/A) adding the expected price and share count. SpaceX’s June 3 amendment is what added the $135 expected price.
- Roadshow. Management pitches institutional investors over roughly one to two weeks to build the order book.
- Pricing & effectiveness. The night before trading, the deal is priced and the SEC declares the registration effective.
- First trade. Shares open on the exchange — this is the only point ordinary retail investors can reliably buy.
- Lock-up expiry. Insiders are typically restricted from selling for about 90–180 days. Expiry can pressure the price and is worth tracking. (Notably, SpaceX’s directed-share allocation carries no lock-up.)
How to read an AI company’s S-1: the sections that matter
When Anthropic’s and OpenAI’s public S-1s land, the value is in knowing where to look. These are the sections that decide whether the valuation is justified, in priority order for AI issuers specifically:
| S-1 section | What to look for in an AI issuer |
|---|---|
| Risk Factors | Compute dependence, related-party supply deals, model-safety/regulatory exposure, customer concentration. |
| MD&A (financials discussion) | Gross margin trend, inference cost vs revenue, cash burn, and whether margins improve with scale. |
| Business | Revenue mix (API vs subscriptions vs enterprise), model roadmap, moat claims. |
| Related-party transactions | The Microsoft–OpenAI, xAI–SpaceX and large compute-partner deals — economics that flatter or distort the numbers. |
| Principal stockholders & control | Supervoting / Foundation / PBC structures that limit public-shareholder power. |
| Use of Proceeds | How much of the raise funds compute/capex vs operations — a tell on burn. |
| Dilution | How far the IPO price sits above book value per share — how much you overpay vs insiders. |
AI IPOs 2026 glossary
- S-1 — the primary US IPO registration statement filed with the SEC, containing the prospectus, audited financials and risk factors.
- Confidential draft S-1 — a non-public S-1 submitted for SEC review; the public only learns of it if the company announces it.
- S-1/A — an amendment to the S-1, often where the price range and share count are added.
- Rule 135 — the SEC rule under which a company can publicly announce a planned offering without it counting as an offer to sell. Anthropic’s June 1 notice used it.
- EDGAR — the SEC’s public filing database where public S-1s appear.
- Directed share program (DSP) — shares set aside at the IPO price for employees, friends and family; discretionary and not open to the general public.
- Lock-up period — the ~90–180 day window after listing during which insiders generally cannot sell.
- PBC (Public Benefit Corporation) — a for-profit legally bound to balance shareholder returns with a stated mission; both Anthropic and OpenAI Group use this form.
- Supervoting shares — a share class with extra votes (e.g. 10×) that lets founders keep control after going public.
- Roadshow — the investor pitch tour that builds the order book before pricing.
- Greenshoe / over-allotment — an option letting underwriters sell up to ~15% extra shares if demand is strong.
FAQ: AI IPOs in 2026
Which AI companies are going public in 2026?
The three landmark names are SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI. As of June 5, 2026, SpaceX has a public S-1 and S-1/A amendments (ticker SPCX, expected $135 IPO price), Anthropic has announced a confidential draft S-1, and OpenAI is reported to be preparing a confidential prospectus but has not filed officially.
Can retail investors buy AI IPO shares before listing?
Generally no. For Anthropic and OpenAI there is no public pre-IPO route for ordinary retail investors. SpaceX’s 5% directed share program is discretionary, not open to the public. The realistic retail path is buying on the open market after a company lists.
Which AI company is most valuable in 2026?
SpaceX has the largest visible IPO valuation reference: the June 3 S-1/A uses an expected $135 IPO price, about 555.6 million offered shares and a roughly $75B gross raise. Among pure AI labs, Anthropic’s $965B private post-money mark recently edged past OpenAI, which has been reported between roughly $730B and $840B.
What is the difference between a confidential S-1 and a public S-1?
A confidential draft S-1 is submitted to the SEC for nonpublic review and shows the public nothing but an optional announcement. A public S-1 appears on EDGAR with audited financials, risk factors and offering terms. SpaceX has a public S-1; Anthropic has only announced a confidential draft.
How can I get exposure to OpenAI or Anthropic without an IPO?
Only indirectly. Microsoft’s roughly 27% stake gives partial OpenAI exposure through a public stock, and broad AI-infrastructure names move with the theme. Some closed-end funds and accredited-investor platforms hold late-stage private stakes, but those carry liquidity, premium/discount and fee risks.
When will these AI IPOs actually happen?
Reported timing puts SpaceX first (a mid-2026 window) and Anthropic later (an October 2026 window has been reported). OpenAI is described as “later in 2026 if markets allow.” All dates are reported or contemplated and depend on SEC review and market conditions.
Is investing in AI IPOs risky?
Yes. Beyond normal IPO risk, these deals share compute-cost-vs-margin uncertainty, founder/controlled-company structures that limit shareholder power, related-party economics and regulatory exposure. For two of the three, you would be reacting to signals rather than a public prospectus.
What is Rule 135 and why did Anthropic use it?
Rule 135 is an SEC rule that lets a company publicly announce a planned offering without that announcement counting as an offer to sell securities. Anthropic used it on June 1, 2026 to confirm it had confidentially submitted a draft S-1 — signalling intent to the market while staying inside the quiet-period rules.
What is a lock-up period in an IPO?
A lock-up is a window after listing — typically 90 to 180 days — during which company insiders and early investors generally cannot sell their shares. Its expiry can add selling pressure. SpaceX’s 5% directed-share allocation is unusual in that those shares reportedly carry no lock-up.
How long after an S-1 does a company actually start trading?
It varies, but after the public S-1 there is SEC review, at least a 15-day gap before the roadshow for emerging growth companies, the roadshow itself (1–2 weeks), then pricing and effectiveness. From public S-1 to first trade is often several weeks to a few months, depending on SEC comments and market conditions.
What is a directed share program and can I get into one?
A directed share program (DSP) sets aside a slice of IPO shares — 5% in SpaceX’s case — at the IPO price for employees, friends, family and selected parties. It is discretionary and allocated by the company, not open to the general public. You cannot sign up for one as an ordinary retail investor, so treat any platform claiming to sell you DSP access as a warning sign.
Is there an AI IPO ETF for these companies?
Not as a clean single product covering all three. Once a company lists (SpaceX first), broad tech, innovation and space-themed ETFs may add it over time based on their index rules. Before listing, Anthropic and OpenAI cannot be in a standard ETF. Theme ETFs give diluted, indirect exposure — they are not a substitute for owning the specific stock, and they carry their own holdings and fee considerations.
Sources and further reading
Sources prioritise primary disclosure: SEC EDGAR filings, OpenAI’s official structure page and Anthropic’s Rule 135 announcement. Reported valuations and dates are drawn from named outlets (Axios, CNBC, Reuters, Fortune, Bloomberg, TechCrunch) and are treated as reported, not confirmed, until a public prospectus exists. This is analysis, not investment advice. Links accessed June 5, 2026.
- SEC EDGAR – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Amendment No. 2 to Form S-1 (filed June 3, 2026; expected $135 IPO price and share count).
- SEC EDGAR – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Amendment No. 1 to Form S-1 (filed June 1, 2026).
- SEC EDGAR – Space Exploration Technologies Corp. Form S-1 (filed May 20, 2026).
- Anthropic – Anthropic newsroom: confidential draft S-1 announcement and Series H (June 1 / May 28, 2026).
- Fortune – Anthropic confidentially files for IPO after $965 billion valuation (June 1, 2026).
- CNBC – Anthropic tops OpenAI as most valuable AI startup, nears $1 trillion valuation (May 28, 2026).
- OpenAI – Our structure: OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC (recapitalization October 28, 2025).
- Axios – OpenAI prepares confidential IPO filing (May 20, 2026).
- CNBC – SpaceX sets aside up to 5% of shares in IPO for employees and friends (June 1, 2026).
- Associated Press – SpaceX says it plans to raise up to $75B at $135 per share (June 3, 2026).
- EDGAR filing index – SpaceX Amendment No. 2 filing documents (June 3, 2026).
- SEC – Investor Bulletin: Investing in an IPO.
- DecodeTheFuture – SpaceX IPO S-1 explained.
- DecodeTheFuture – Anthropic confidential S-1 filing explained.
- DecodeTheFuture – OpenAI IPO, S-1 and PBC structure explained.
- DecodeTheFuture – Best online brokers for stock trading in 2026.