The Wall Street Journal, citing sources on May 21, reported that OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, plans to secretly file its IPO draft with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as early as May 22, with a target public listing in September 2026. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will serve as joint lead underwriters, assisting in preparing the registration statement documents.
Confirmed Details of OpenAI’s IPO: Timeline, Underwriters, and Valuation Figures
Based on the WSJ’s confirmed information from sources, the following IPO plan elements have been disclosed: the underwriters are Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley (both are blue-chip investment banks); the confidential filing is planned to be completed as early as May 22, 2026 (Friday); the target public listing time is September 2026; the pre-IPO valuation direction matches the secondary market valuation of $906 billion.
OpenAI has currently raised about $180B in total funding. Its most recent funding round was completed at a valuation of $852B. Private share trading on Forge Markets shows that in the past year, the increase reached 120%, reflecting strong demand for OpenAI shares from both institutional and retail investors. Notably, the WSJ report also confirmed that CFO Sarah Friar previously said the company’s listing preparations may require more time, suggesting that there are different opinions within OpenAI management on the IPO timeline.
Ruling on Musk’s $150 billion Lawsuit: Legal Conclusions Confirmed by a California Jury
On May 18, 2026, a California jury unanimously ruled in favor of dismissal, rejecting Musk’s $150 billion claims against OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, and co-founder Greg Brockman. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers accepted the jury’s advisory ruling and formally dismissed all of Musk’s claims.
The legal basis confirmed by the court is the statute of limitations: the jury found that Musk missed the three-year window for litigation, and OpenAI’s defense confirmed that Musk had been aware of the company’s for-profit transition plans as early as 2017.
Musk’s Original Claims: OpenAI and its leadership betrayed the company’s nonprofit founding mission by stuffing its organization’s transition into a for-profit entity with private gains; seeking $150 billion in damages, replacing Altman, and canceling the IPO plan.
Jury Ruling: unanimously dismissed all claims, based on the lawsuit being beyond the statute of limitations, and did not rule on the merits of the substantive allegations.
Musk’s Response: said the ruling is a “calendar technical issue,” and announced he will appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, accusing Altman and Brockman of “stealing charity organization funds.”
OpenAI’s Response: lawyers said the lawsuit is a “hypocritical competitive disruption plot.”
FAQ
What does OpenAI’s “confidential filing” mean, and what are the next steps?
“Confidential filing” refers to when a company submits an S-1 draft to the SEC without disclosing it publicly. This process allows the company and the SEC to conduct a confidential review, and after completing revisions, the company publishes the full registration statement. Under SEC rules, after submitting a confidential application, the company must disclose the complete S-1 document at least 15 days before the expected listing date. If OpenAI completes the confidential filing by the end of May and publishes the S-1 between July and August, then the September listing timeline is feasible procedurally.
Will Musk’s announcement to appeal affect OpenAI’s IPO process?
Musk said he plans to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, but the California court has already formally dismissed all of the lawsuit claims. At present, there are no effective legal judgments or injunctions against OpenAI. The appeal process typically takes months to years and does not automatically have legal force to halt OpenAI’s business activities or IPO plans. OpenAI, in its IPO registration statement, must disclose all existing legal risks related to Musk, including the status of the appeal. However, risk disclosures and the IPO timeline are two separate matters.
What is the connection between OpenAI’s unauthorized token events in the crypto market and this IPO?
In early May 2026, OpenAI and Anthropic’s PreStocks tokens fell sharply because both companies issued warnings stating that their shares are subject to transfer restrictions, and that any transfer without written authorization (including pledging, mortgaging, or similar dispositions) is invalid. The collapse of these tokens reflects the structural risks of the crypto market attempting to tokenize private company share structures without a compliance framework. OpenAI’s official IPO is a compliant listing through traditional stock markets and is completely unrelated to the above unauthorized token attempts.
