OpenAI vs. Anthropic: The IPO race 5/21/26

Summary

CNBC’s Kate Rooney reports on the blockbuster IPO in the making as the AI race heats up. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Key takeaways

• OpenAI is preparing to file for an IPO confidentially as soon as Friday, targeting a public listing by September, with a last private valuation exceeding $850 billion.
• Anthropic is on track to generate $10.9 billion in revenue in Q1 alone—surpassing all of last year's sales—and may post its first profitable quarter, intensifying pressure on OpenAI to move first.
• SpaceX's S1 reveals AI capital expenditure as its fastest-growing cost center at $7.7 billion in Q1, representing roughly 60% of all capital deployed, signaling the massive infrastructure stakes in the AI race.

Why this matters

The convergence of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX's xAI all moving toward public markets simultaneously is set to redefine AI sector valuations, competitive benchmarking, and institutional investment strategies in 2025.

Entities

Show notes

CNBC’s Kate Rooney reports on the blockbuster IPO in the making as the AI race heats up. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Themes

• openai
• anthropic
• investing
• management