OpenAI is going public. CFO Sarah Friar told employees during an all-hands meeting on August 19 that the company plans to launch its IPO in 2027, contingent on continued business momentum. For a company that started as a nonprofit research lab, listing on a stock exchange is quite the character arc.
The announcement comes roughly two months after OpenAI confidentially filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC in June 2026, formally setting the gears in motion for what could be one of the largest tech IPOs in history.
The numbers behind the move
In March 2026, the company closed a $122 billion funding round, landing at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.
The company is currently running at a $2 billion monthly revenue rate. Enterprise services now account for more than 40% of total revenue, a share expected to match consumer revenue by the end of 2026.
Friar framed the IPO not as some grand finish line but as another milestone in OpenAI’s fundraising journey. The massive March raise, she noted, gives the company flexibility to be deliberate about timing rather than rushing to market out of necessity.
Why 2027, not 2026
There was apparently internal discussion about a potential late-2026 listing. That option got shelved in favor of additional preparation time.
The company has also been navigating a significant governance transformation, shifting from its original nonprofit structure to a for-profit entity capable of rewarding investors and employees with equity.
Friar’s background lends credibility to the timeline. Before joining OpenAI, she served as CEO of Nextdoor and held CFO roles at Square, giving her direct experience with the IPO process and public company operations.
What this means for the market
At an $852 billion private valuation, OpenAI is already more valuable than all but a handful of publicly traded companies globally.
The $2 billion monthly revenue run rate, if sustained, would place OpenAI’s annualized revenue around $24 billion. Compute costs for training and running frontier AI models are enormous, and investors will want clarity on when, exactly, OpenAI expects to turn the corner on margins.
Enterprise revenue crossing the 40% threshold is a signal worth watching. If OpenAI can demonstrate that enterprises are not just experimenting with AI tools but embedding them deeply into workflows, it strengthens the investment case considerably.
The competitive landscape adds another layer of complexity. Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Anthropic are all pouring tens of billions into AI development. OpenAI going public means quarterly earnings calls, revenue disclosures, and margin transparency that its private competitors won’t have to match.