OpenAI could go public next year at a $1 trillion valuation (www.businessinsider.com)

Reuters reports OpenAI is taking steps toward an IPO that could come as early as late 2026 and potentially value the company at about $1 trillion — a figure that would make it the largest IPO in history. The company hasn’t confirmed a timeline; CFO Sarah Friar has referenced 2027, and a spokesperson said an IPO isn’t the current focus. The move reflects intense investor demand since ChatGPT’s November 2022 debut, and highlights practical routes and caveats for investors: tokenized private-equity products have circulated (with firms warning they’re not real shares), while Microsoft effectively offers the easiest public exposure — its finalized deal gives it roughly a 27% stake in OpenAI (about $135 billion). For the AI/ML community, a public OpenAI has concrete technical and strategic implications. An IPO would channel large-scale capital toward product development, cloud compute, and safety engineering but also increase pressure for predictable revenue and transparency via SEC filings — potentially revealing more about model governance, data practices, and commercial priorities. It could accelerate consolidation (partnerships, talent flows, IP commercialization) and shift incentives from exploratory research toward deployable, scalable systems. Regulators, customers and competitors will watch closely: public disclosure and board accountability could reshape how leading foundation models are developed, audited and governed.