OpenAI said Monday it has confidentially filed draft IPO paperwork, giving itself the option to tap public markets while maintaining that its focus stays on building AI products rather than preparing for a listing. The move sets up a direct race with rival Anthropic, which filed its own IPO paperwork exactly one week earlier. The company has not decided on timing and said the filing mainly gives it flexibility.

OpenAI Keeps Its Timeline Open OpenAI said it has not committed to a schedule, noting that "it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company." To bridge that gap, the AI lab is working toward a tender offer that would give investors some liquidity while the company stays private. According to a Bloomberg report, OpenAI is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley on a listing that could come as soon as this fall.

A Crowded Path to the Public Markets The filing lands one week after Anthropic, OpenAI's biggest competitor, filed its own IPO paperwork, and just days before SpaceX is expected to go public. All three companies carry valuations around $1 trillion, putting them in position to be among the largest IPOs in history. But while excitement around AI is high, investor dollars are finite, and competition for capital grows tougher as more companies head to public markets at once.

Scrutiny Over Revenue and Internal Disagreement OpenAI could face particular investor scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal reported the company missed internal revenue targets and that CEO Sam Altman and CFO Sarah Friar disagreed over the IPO timeline. Those questions could weigh on how investors price the offering against rivals moving on similar timelines.

How the Order of Disclosure Could Matter The timing of OpenAI's SEC review could affect what Anthropic ends up disclosing, or the reverse, PitchBook's Harrison Rolfes told Axios. If OpenAI is still early in the review process and Anthropic releases extensive information first, public and regulatory attention may shift toward Anthropic. That could let OpenAI observe its competitor's disclosures and adjust its own approach, ultimately working in OpenAI's favor.

The Bottom Line The open question is whether Anthropic or OpenAI decides it has more to gain by going first. The competition between the two labs has moved beyond model advancements. It is now also a race to Wall Street.

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