Wall Street’s Next Giants: The Trillion Dollar IPO Race

Diya Poluru, Technology Columnist;

The Lawrenceville School, NJ

When SpaceX rang the Nasdaq opening bell on June 12, 2026, it catalyzed the largest IPO ever seen at a $1.77 trillion valuation, briefly making Elon Musk richer than any person in history within the next few weeks. OpenAI was meant to follow, so why did it pull back? SpaceX, one of the world’s most valuable private companies as of the last decade, had finally gone public. Investors piled in almost immediately, briefly elevating Musk’s status to the first trillionaire in history. Weeks earlier, it seemed that OpenAI was on track to its own spectacular debut, having filed confidentially for its own IPO just days after SpaceX. Shockingly, OpenAI is now reported to be leaning towards delaying its debut to 2027 rather than 2026, a plot twist that has raised questions in the finance and technology industries. 

An IPO, which stands for initial public offering, is defined as the first time a private company, like SpaceX or OpenAI, sells shares of its stock to the general public. They list on an exchange like Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, so investors can buy shares. Companies often turn to IPOs to raise money and to let early investors make a profit, but the process also requires sharing regular financial reports and dealing with constantly changing stock prices that reveal how much investors trust the business. For years, giants such as SpaceX (known for space technology and exploration), OpenAI (the makers of ChatGPT), and Anthropic (the makers of Claude) stayed private and resorted to raising money through private funding instead. However, 2026 brought about a change. As the stock market shifted and investor interest in AI and space tech piqued, several companies were drawn towards IPO debuts. 

SpaceX was a major leader of this change. They listed on the Nasdaq exchange and priced their IPO at $135 a share for a valuation, its total worth calculated from that share price, of roughly $1.8 trillion. Demand was extremely high, and SpaceX ended up raising around $75 billion, making it the largest IPO in history and beating Saudi Aramco’s previous record of $25.6 billion. The stock price surged as high as the $220 range after the debut, and SpaceX’s valuation went above $2.8 trillion, which was when Elon Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire. However, within weeks the price of SPCX had dropped back to around $150 to $160 per share, and as of August 2026, shares have gone below their $135 IPO price. 

Earlier, OpenAI had seemed to be on a similar IPO track, having confidentially filed for its own IPO, and it was reported that they were working toward a listing this year. However, according to a New York Times report published later in June, OpenAI has become hesitant and may be leaning toward delaying the IPO until 2027. CEO Sam Altman insists on OpenAI being priced at no less than $1 trillion, and from SpaceX’s experience with their IPO, it does not seem like public stock market investors are currently going to meet that goal. Advisors worry that the pullback that happened to SpaceX signals weaker interest from the public than expected, and don’t want to repeat that scenario. OpenAI is pressured further due to its financial situation, where they were reported to have a net loss of around $38.5 billion in 2025, and it is expected that the heavy spending trend will continue for years. 

Meanwhile, their rival Anthropic filed confidentially for its own IPO as well on June 1, a week prior to OpenAI. If OpenAI delays its IPO debut until 2027, Anthropic could potentially end up going public first, which poses a threat to OpenAI as Anthropic could take over as the go-to for investors in the AI market. Recent news even suggests that Anthropic could outdo SpaceX with its IPO due to its revenue growth, predicting that the company could go public at an even higher valuation than SpaceX’s $1.77 trillion, and could claim the spot of the largest IPO ever. 

But this isn’t just a stock market story. SpaceX runs Starlink, which brings internet to places that don’t have reliable service. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude are tools many students and adults already use to help with everyday tasks or questions. Even when it isn’t apparent, the changing of stock prices constantly affects students and adults. 

SpaceX’s IPO experience reveals that even huge companies aren’t exempt from falls and the risks of the stock market, and serves as a reason for hesitation among companies such as OpenAI. For OpenAI, it signals that a change in timing may be the best option and is influencing their decision about their IPO debut. It also raises questions about a “race” of sorts between Anthropic and OpenAI: who will be the first to ring the opening bell, and how will they fare in the market after what happened to SpaceX? 

Works Cited

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