OpenAI has achieved a significant financial milestone, with its annualized revenue exceeding $25 billion, setting the stage for a potential initial public offering as early as the fourth quarter of 2026. This revenue surge, reported by The Information in early March 2026, marks a dramatic increase from $6 billion at the end of 2024. Sacra estimates that the $25 billion mark was reached by late February 2026, a growth rate unprecedented for software companies.
The company’s CFO, Sarah Friar, has indicated that OpenAI is aiming to file regulatory documents in the latter half of 2026, with a listing possibly occurring in 2027. Investment banks Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley are reportedly in talks to advise on the offering. Friar has also mentioned plans to allocate some IPO shares to retail investors, describing this as prudent practice for a company of OpenAI’s scale.
Despite its impressive revenue growth, OpenAI is not yet profitable. The company spent approximately $22 billion to generate $13.1 billion in revenue in 2025, and its annual cash burn is projected to reach $57 billion by 2027. Breakeven is not anticipated until 2030. The $122 billion raised in March 2026 provides roughly 18 to 24 months of runway, making the IPO a financial necessity rather than a choice. OpenAI’s recent conversion to a public benefit corporation in April 2026 removed the structural barrier to going public that its nonprofit origins had created.
Competitive pressures are also mounting. Rival Anthropic is pursuing a $50 billion raise at a $900 billion valuation, potentially racing OpenAI to market. On-chain prediction markets now value Anthropic higher than OpenAI on an implied basis, adding urgency to OpenAI’s IPO timeline. A $1 trillion listing would be the largest technology IPO in history, setting a benchmark for the AI sector.
OpenAI’s expansion into financial services, including tools that integrate ChatGPT with institutional data platforms, signals ambitions beyond consumer subscriptions. The IPO could have broader market implications, particularly for crypto and AI-related investments, as it would provide a public valuation reference for the AI industry.