OpenAI could file IPO today

OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file draft IPO paperwork with U.S. regulators as soon as Friday, May 22, according to CNBC and Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are working with the company on the filing, the reports said, and Bloomberg said OpenAI is targeting a public debut in the fall. OpenAI did not confirm an IPO plan. An OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC that the company’s focus “remains on execution” and that it “regularly evaluate[s] a range of strategic options.” ### What has actually been reported for Friday? CNBC reported on May 20 that OpenAI was preparing to submit a draft prospectus confidentially “as soon as Friday,” citing a person familiar with the matter. Bloomberg reported that the company was preparing to file in the coming weeks and was targeting a public debut sometime in the fall, also citing a person familiar with the plan. Both reports said the exact timing remained uncertain. (cnbc.com) Friday’s step, if it happens, would not mean investors immediately see a public filing. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says issuers can submit draft registration statements for nonpublic review before a public filing, a process expanded beyond emerging growth companies in 2017. (cnbc.com) ### Why would a confidential filing matter if nothing is public yet? A confidential submission is usually the first formal move into the SEC review process. The filing itself stays nonpublic at first, but it starts the back-and-forth with regulators over financial disclosures, risk factors and offering structure before a roadshow and public prospectus. That is why reports of a confidential draft often draw attention even before ticker, exchange and price range are known. (sec.gov) Bloomberg said a public debut could come in the fall, which would put the next visible milestone at a public S-1 filing after SEC comments are addressed. CNBC described the potential deal as one of the largest public debuts in history. ### How big is OpenAI right now? OpenAI said on March 31 that it had closed a funding round with $122 billion in committed capital at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. (sec.gov) CNBC separately described the company as valued at more than $850 billion by private investors. Those figures explain why any IPO discussion is being framed around one of the biggest listings on record. (bloomberg.com) March 31 is also important because it shows OpenAI had just raised a large amount of private capital weeks before the reported IPO preparations. That means the company was not moving toward public markets from a position of immediate funding pressure, based on its own announcement of the financing. ### Does OpenAI’s structure make an IPO more complicated? (openai.com) OpenAI said its structure was updated on October 28, 2025, with the nonprofit becoming the OpenAI Foundation and the operating business becoming OpenAI Group PBC, a public benefit corporation controlled by the foundation. OpenAI has also said Microsoft holds an investment in OpenAI Group PBC valued at about $135 billion, representing roughly 27% on an as-converted diluted basis following recapitalization. (openai.com) That structure matters because any IPO would involve the for-profit public benefit corporation rather than the original nonprofit parent. OpenAI has said the foundation continues to control the business, and in March said the latest funding round increased the value of the foundation’s stake in OpenAI Group to more than $180 billion. ### What should readers watch for next? (openai.com) The next concrete signal would be either confirmation from OpenAI or a public registration statement after the SEC’s nonpublic review. Bloomberg said the company is targeting a fall debut, while CNBC said Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are among the banks working on the filing. Until a public prospectus appears, the reported Friday timing remains based on unnamed sources rather than a company announcement. (openai.com) (bloomberg.com)