Ed Zitron: Anthropic, OpenAI should not IPO

Bloomberg video segments published on June 1 and June 2 pushed a debate that has been building around the biggest private AI labs: whether Anthropic and OpenAI are approaching public listings, and whether they should. One Bloomberg Television segment said Anthropic PBC had confidentially submitted draft paperwork for a public listing and was racing OpenAI toward a Wall Street debut as soon as this fall. A separate Bloomberg Radio clip featured Ed Zitron, chief executive of EZPR and a frequent critic of the AI industry, arguing that Anthropic and OpenAI should not be allowed to go public at all. ### What exactly was said in the June 2 video? Bloomberg Radio’s June 2 YouTube upload said Zitron warned against “balancing the equity market on record public offerings for AI companies that have never reported profit.” The video description identified him as CEO at EZ Primary Research and said he viewed such offerings as “a dangerous proposition” and that the companies “should not be allowed to IPO.” (bloomberg.com) The Bloomberg clip also described Zitron as an AI skeptic who said many of the companies in question “will not last in the long term.” That framing put the discussion on governance and durability, not just valuation. ### Where did the IPO talk come from? Bloomberg Television’s June 1 segment, carried on YouTube and Bloomberg’s site, said Anthropic had confidentially submitted draft paperwork for a public listing. (youtube.com) The segment said Anthropic was racing “longtime rival OpenAI” to make a Wall Street debut as soon as this fall, and grouped both companies with SpaceX in a broader “2026 IPO Boom” theme. A separate YouTube video from commentator Eli the Computer Guy, published around the same period, used the headline “Anthropic AI Files for IPO - OpenAI is Dead.” That title showed how quickly the listing discussion had spread beyond financial television into more adversarial commentary, though the title itself did not establish any official filing beyond the broader reporting already circulating. (bloomberg.com) ### Why is Zitron’s objection different from ordinary IPO skepticism? Zitron’s argument, as presented in the Bloomberg material, was not limited to price or timing. The June 2 description tied his objection to the idea that public markets could be asked to absorb large offerings from AI companies that have not shown profit, a concern he cast as a market-risk issue. The debate also lands differently because Anthropic and OpenAI are not ordinary software startups. (youtube.com) Both companies sit at the center of a fast-moving AI buildout that depends on large capital commitments, strategic partners and public claims about safety, model behavior and long-term research. Zitron’s appearance on Bloomberg placed those governance concerns alongside the IPO narrative rather than treating a listing as a straightforward liquidity event. (youtube.com) That is an inference from how the segment was framed, not a direct quotation. ### Is there confirmed proof of an imminent OpenAI IPO? Bloomberg’s June 1 segment explicitly described Anthropic as having confidentially submitted draft paperwork and said OpenAI was part of the race to go public as soon as this fall. The material surfaced in the current media cycle does not, by itself, provide a public filing document from OpenAI or Anthropic for readers to inspect. (youtube.com) That leaves the story, for now, in two tracks. One is reported market chatter about a possible listing window for Anthropic and OpenAI. The other is a sharper argument from Zitron that, even if those companies can list, they should not. The next concrete step would be a formal securities filing, a company statement, or additional reporting that names the advisers, structure or timing of any offering. (youtube.com) (bloomberg.com)