OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX are about to discover how patient Wall Street really is. Their planned public offerings will put some of the most closely watched AI businesses under a level of quarterly scrutiny that private markets rarely demand.
The timing matters because investor appetite for AI remains intense, but so do expectations. The companies already carry enormous valuations, and a public listing would force them to defend growth, spending and profitability every three months.
The new test for AI valuations
ChatGPT maker OpenAI is the latest AI giant to announce plans to go public, following Anthropic’s confidential IPO filing last week. SpaceX, which includes Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, is also set to make its market debut on Friday.
Together, the three offerings could become one of the clearest signals yet about the strength of the AI market. They are also expected to generate hundreds of billions of dollars in stock sales, putting even more attention on whether the sector’s biggest names can justify their soaring values.
Wall Street has already shown that strong numbers are not always enough. Broadcom reported revenue growth of 48% for the second quarter and projected semiconductor growth of 180% versus last year, yet its shares still fell more than 13% last week.
That kind of reaction helps explain why OpenAI and Anthropic may face far tougher questions as public companies. Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, told CNN that “Expectations that seem manageable in private markets can become relentless under the glare of public ownership.”
What investors will want to know
Analysts are likely to press both companies on the same issues that dominate Wall Street’s AI trade: how fast they can keep growing, how they will turn products into profit, and whether they can sustain huge infrastructure spending.
Those questions are especially important because both companies have already shared signs of momentum. OpenAI said it raised $122 billion in March, lifting its valuation to $852 billion, and said that month it was generating $2 billion in revenue every month.
OpenAI also said ChatGPT became the fastest app to reach one billion users last month, according to Sensor Tower. The analytics firm said it took Google Maps, TikTok and YouTube five to eight years to reach that milestone, while ChatGPT did it in about three.
Anthropic has also posted striking numbers. The company said its valuation rose from $380 billion in February to $965 billion in May, and said last month that it reached $47 billion in run-rate revenue.
Ramp data cited by CNN showed another sign of momentum, with more businesses using Anthropic than OpenAI for the first time in May. That kind of business traction could become a key part of its case to investors once the company is public.
Public markets leave less room for surprises
Going public could give OpenAI and Anthropic a larger platform, but it will also remove some of the flexibility that private investors offer. Public shareholders will expect updates, and any delays or pivots can quickly become a bigger story.
That could matter if upcoming model releases slip or if new products fail to become paid offerings fast enough. OpenAI’s decision to shutter its video app Sora is one example of the kind of move that would likely face more public questioning after an IPO.
Even Nvidia, the most valuable public company in the world, has not been immune to that pressure. In January 2025, the AI chipmaker lost a record $600 billion in market value in a single day after DeepSeek, a new Chinese competitor, entered the market.
As Green put it, “Private investors can back a vision and wait years for results,” but “Public markets rarely offer that luxury.” For OpenAI and Anthropic, that is the test that begins as soon as Wall Street takes over.