OpenAI aims for a swift IPO

The AI operator OpenAI is preparing for its IPO and may file the initial application as early as Friday. This is reported by the Financial Times (FT) citing unnamed insiders. If all goes smoothly, the IPO could take place as early as September. The company's projected valuation would then exceed one trillion dollars.

According to the FT, the driving force is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who wants to go public before competitor Anthropic. However, CFO Sarah Friar reportedly wants to proceed more cautiously.

The IPO (initial public offering) is prepared in any case. OpenAI has reportedly been working on it with major banks and law firms for months. OpenAI has unceremoniously discontinued the hopelessly loss-making video generator Sora. Furthermore, plans for an erotic version of ChatGPT have reportedly been shelved. Some investors do not want such services in their portfolio.

Musk's defeat important for IPO

Above all, OpenAI has restructured from a non-profit organization into a for-profit company. Against this background, the billion-dollar lawsuit filed by Elon Musk and his company xAI against OpenAI and its co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman was significant. Musk provided millions for OpenAI's originally non-profit purpose and feels cheated by the radical change in direction. The richest man in the world is demanding that OpenAI transfer 180 billion dollars to the still existing non-profit foundation.

However, on Monday, the court in the Musk v Altman lawsuit ruled that the claim was filed too late. The matter is therefore time-barred. Since the jury does not have to justify its decision, Musk's announced appeal is a difficult undertaking. Moreover, it will take time.

This allows OpenAI to storm the stock market before the appetite of major investors for AI may be satisfied. An indicator of the mood will be the expected IPO in June of the space-satellite-AI-social-media conglomerate SpaceX.

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