#OpenAIPlansIPO

OpenAI just closed a $122 billion funding round at an $852 billion valuation, the largest private fundraise in Silicon Valley history. Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank anchored the deal, and for the first time retail investors got a seat at the table, buying in through major bank channels and ARK Invest ETFs.

An IPO is being targeted as early as late 2026, with reports suggesting OpenAI may file with regulators in the second half of the year, potentially at a valuation exceeding $1 trillion. Amazon's remaining $35 billion commitment is even conditioned on the company going public before the end of 2028.

But not everyone inside the building is fully on board. CFO Sarah Friar has reportedly raised concerns about the pace of spending and the company's readiness to face the scrutiny that comes with being a public company. Prediction markets currently put the odds of a 2026 IPO at around 39 percent.

What makes this one different from the usual tech IPO story is that OpenAI started as a nonprofit research lab. The structural and governance questions that come with converting that into a for-profit publicly traded company are genuinely uncharted territory, and Wall Street knows it.

Whether it happens in 2026 or gets pushed again, the moment OpenAI goes public, it will be one of the most closely watched listings in stock market history.