OpenAI is accelerating plans for a potential initial public offering as soon as the fourth quarter, positioning the ChatGPT maker for a high-profile debut just as rivals move to reach the public markets first. The push is being watched closely across the digital economy because it would test investor appetite for big-ticket AI growth stories that also require massive spending on chips and infrastructure — costs that ripple through cloud, commerce and payments.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (Jan. 29) that OpenAI is “laying the groundwork” for a fourth-quarter listing and has begun informal discussions with Wall Street banks, according to people familiar with the matter. The Journal said the company, valued around $500 billion, has been expanding its finance team, including hiring a chief accounting officer, Ajmere Dale, and a corporate business finance officer, Cynthia Gaylor, who will oversee investor relations.
The report said the timing is being shaped by a broader reopening of the IPO market after a slowdown, with bankers speculating that 2026 could be a blockbuster year for listings. Still, the Journal cautioned that a year-end IPO would be difficult for a fast-growing company facing intense competition in its core consumer business, including from Google. The Journal also reported that OpenAI is headed to trial in a case brought by co-founder Elon Musk seeking up to $134 billion in damages.
OpenAI’s executives have also privately worried about Anthropic beating it to market, the Journal reported. Anthropic has told financial partners it is open to listing by year-end, and its sales have been boosted by the popularity of its Claude Code product, the Journal said. Both companies are losing billions annually as they build and run AI models, and Anthropic projects it will break even in 2028 — two years earlier than OpenAI, the Journal previously reported.
As OpenAI weighs going public, CEO Sam Altman has been blunt about the trade-offs. “Am I excited to be a public company CEO?…in some ways I am, and in some ways I think it’d be really annoying.” The Journal added that as the company prepares, Altman is expected to delegate some responsibilities to former Instacart CEO Fidji Simo, who leads OpenAI’s product and business teams as CEO of Applications.
Recent PYMNTS coverage tracked OpenAI’s widening orbit in commerce and enterprise tech, including its effort to assemble a $100 billion-plus funding round, Sam Altman’s outreach to Middle East investors, and the rollout of new AI-native workspaces for professional users.
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