OpenAI president says company ready to go public in 2027

OpenAI President Greg Brockman said Wednesday, November 4, that most of the company's revenue now comes from enterprise sales, and that he believes OpenAI will be ready to go public in 2027. He spoke at a Wall Street Journal News Corp ↗ 4.15% tech conference in Napa, California. Asked on stage whether OpenAI would be ready for an IPO next year, Brockman answered, "I think so," according to Reuters.rmb.reuters.com

The remarks show how the company behind ChatGPT, best known for its consumer chatbot, has changed its business mix. It is now competing head-on with Anthropic for corporate customers, and Anthropic is likely to list its shares before the end of the year.

Chasing Anthropic

Brockman said OpenAI has been increasing sales to businesses to compete with Anthropic, including by promoting its Codex coding agent, CNA reported, carrying the Reuters story. In a Wall Street Journal video from the event, Brockman described the moment OpenAI realized Anthropic would pass it in revenue this year, and how OpenAI is now recovering.channelnewsasia.com+1

Anthropic's own numbers show how fast it has grown. The company reported third-quarter revenue of $17 billion, up from $1.4 billion a year earlier, and a net loss of $23.3 billion for the quarter, according to its amended filing. Anthropic filed its S-1 on October 26 and plans to list on the Nasdaq ↗ 2.55% Global Select Market under the ticker "ANT," the company said. It is aiming to debut as soon as the week of November 16, Yahoo Finance reported, citing the Journal and Reuters. The offering could raise around $100 billion at a valuation of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion, according to MarketWatch via Morningstar.anthropic.com+3

OpenAI's slower path

OpenAI filed IPO paperwork confidentially with the SEC in June, the Journal reported, though at the time the company said "it may be a while" before it would go public. Since then, OpenAI has been working to raise more money to build on its recent growth after delaying its IPO plans, Reuters reported.wsj.com+1

Brockman's timeline matches earlier comments from Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, who told employees at an all-hands meeting that OpenAI "will be a public company in 2027," or sooner if "our business continues to inflect," CNBC reported. At that meeting, Friar showed slides saying OpenAI's enterprise revenue run rate was up 50% quarter to date. CNBC added that OpenAI is under pressure to justify its $852 billion valuation before going public.cnbc.com

"The IPO is not a finish line, it is a milestone, another fundraise," Friar told staff, according to CNBC.cnbc.com