SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic: the five most anticipated IPOs of 2026

In 2026, the IPO market may experience a powerful upswing: giants such as Elon Musk's aerospace company SpaceX, as well as two developers of popular chatbots, OpenAI and Anthropic, are preparing to go public. Moreover, SpaceX and OpenAI's listings may compete for the status of the largest in history. All companies are currently at different stages of preparation for their IPOs, and the timing and parameters will depend on market conditions and business growth rates.

The world's most valuable aerospace company is considering going public in mid- or late 2026 and expects to raise more than $30 billion, Bloomberg sources said in early December, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later calling the information "accurate." This offering could be the largest in history, surpassing the record set by Saudi Aramco, which raised $29 billion in its 2019 IPO. SpaceX expects its market value to reach $1.5 trillion as a result, the agency writes. This is almost twice the company's latest valuation. It plans to use some of the funds raised on the stock market to build data centers in space for the Starlink satellite network, Bloomberg reported. Participants in the Polymarket event prediction platform estimate the probability of SpaceX going public in 2026 at 81%, Benzinga writes. Bets are even being placed on the company's future ticker symbol, with the most popular options being $X, $SEX, and $SX.

The developer of ChatGPT, which competed with SpaceX for the status of the most expensive private company throughout 2025, is also considering going public. According to Reuters sources, OpenAI's potential valuation at the time of listing could reach $1 trillion, making it one of the most expensive debutants in the history of public markets. For comparison, in mid-December, sources at The Wall Street Journal reported on preparations for a new investment round that could value OpenAI at $830 billion. The company may file documents with regulators as early as the second half of 2026, Reuters writes. According to Reuters, CFO Sarah Friar told her colleagues that she is targeting a listing in 2027, but some advisors believe an earlier exit is possible, closer to the end of 2026. In preliminary discussions, OpenAI considered raising about $60 billion at the lower end of the range.

Claude, the developer of a chatbot and competitor to OpenAI, is in preliminary talks to go public in 2026, the Financial Times reported in early December, citing sources. According to the publication, the startup is also considering an additional private financing round. The exact parameters of a possible listing have not yet been disclosed. It is known that in September, Anthropic raised $13 billion in a Series F round, after which its valuation reached $183 billion. The company is actively expanding its pool of partners: it has signed an agreement with Google for access to 1 million specialized TPU processors and more than 1 GW of computing power, integrated Claude into IBM's corporate AI products, and begun collaborating with Microsoft.

One of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges is also exploring the possibility of listing. According to CNBC, the platform is considering an IPO in the first quarter of 2026. The parameters of the future listing — volume and price range — have not yet been determined. In November 2025, Kraken raised $800 million at a business valuation of $20 billion, Reuters reported. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand its presence in international markets and develop payment services. Kraken is currently actively growing its business through mergers and acquisitions: in May, it acquired the NinjaTrader retail futures trading platform for $1.5 billion, and in October, it acquired the Small Exchange futures exchange from IG Group for $100 million.

The creator of a communication app primarily aimed at gamers has been among the candidates for an IPO for several years. Rumors about the company's possible listing have been circulating since at least 2022. In March 2025, Bloomberg reported that Discord had begun consultations with investment bankers about a potential listing and was considering going public as early as this year, but emphasized that the timing could change. In October, Morningstar also reiterated expectations for Discord's IPO, without specifying a date. Since then, there have been no new confirmed updates on preparations for the listing. The last publicly known valuation of Discord, founded in 2015, was approximately $15 billion at the end of the 2021 round. A company representative previously stated that Discord is aware of the high level of interest in its future plans but is not commenting on rumors about the listing, remaining focused on product development and business sustainability.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor