It’s Rumored That Mega Private Companies Could Go Public in 2026: Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX
The “private forever” era is starting to crack.
Over the last few months (especially Oct–Dec 2025), serious reporting has pointed to SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic laying groundwork for public-market scale moves — with 2026 repeatedly showing up as the earliest plausible window.
This doesn’t mean “confirmed IPOs.” It means something more interesting: the biggest private tech stories are starting to look too large (and too capital-hungry) to stay private indefinitely.
Below is a deeper, longer breakdown of what’s driving the rumors, what each company’s “IPO story” would actually be, and what to watch for in 2026 if you want to separate hype from real execution.
Why 2026 keeps showing up in the rumors
1) These companies are already “public-company sized”
When you hear talk of raises in the tens of billions and valuations at or approaching the trillion-dollar range, you’re basically talking about public-market scale, even if the cap table is still private.
At some point, the mechanics of staying private become awkward:
huge secondaries (employees/investors want liquidity)
more governance complexity
fundraising that starts to resemble “IPO-lite”
pressure to standardize financial reporting anyway
2) Frontier AI is expensive in a way the public markets understand
The AI labs aren’t just building software. They’re building compute-heavy infrastructure and long-term contracts. That’s closer to how public investors think about capex, margins, and scale than the old “viral app” playbook.
3) Public markets want the “real scoreboard”
Private valuations can be… flexible. Once a company lists, it becomes a real-time scoreboard:
audited financials
revenue concentration
compute costs
margins
churn
regulatory risks
An IPO of any one of these would reshape how investors price the entire AI sector.
4) A “mega IPO cycle” would reset VC liquidity
Many VCs and employees have been waiting for liquidity events at the very top of the private market. A wave of landmark listings would unlock returns and recycle capital into the next generation of startups.
SpaceX: the “largest IPO ever?” narrative (and why Starlink is the real engine)
SpaceX is the one that could redefine what “mega IPO” means.
Discussions have pointed to a 2026 IPO that could raise tens of billions, potentially valuing SpaceX at over $1T, with timing floated around mid-2026 (still not confirmed).
What investors would actually be buying
Most people think “rockets.” Public investors will think in segments:
1) Starlink (recurring revenue story)
subscription-like behavior
global connectivity narrative
“infrastructure internet company” framing
2) Launch services (proven business, but cyclical + contract-driven)
3) Long-horizon bets (Mars, lunar logistics, space-based infrastructure, etc.)
Those long-horizon bets are exciting, but public markets usually demand:
a credible base business
predictable growth
a story that can survive quarterly earnings scrutiny
The Musk factor: ambition, execution, volatility
Another reason SpaceX would be “eventful” publicly is Elon Musk himself — admired by many investors, but also a source of unpredictability and regulatory friction.
That mix would be baked directly into the stock’s identity.
Why this matters beyond SpaceX
If SpaceX goes public, it would likely pull commercial space infrastructure into mainstream investing — reframing it from futuristic exploration to global connectivity and logistics.
OpenAI: the most complicated IPO story in tech
OpenAI is the hardest to model publicly, because it’s not just a company — it’s a governance story.
The core challenge: structure
OpenAI is not built around a standard shareholder-first model. Its structure includes nonprofit control and a public-benefit orientation.
Public investors would immediately ask:
Who ultimately controls decisions?
What happens when mission conflicts with profit?
How durable is the governance model under pressure?
How predictable are long-term incentives?
This doesn’t make an IPO impossible — but it makes it unusual.
Why OpenAI might still move toward public markets
The answer is scale.
Frontier AI requires massive, continuous investment:
model training
inference at scale
long-term compute contracts
global competition
At some point, private funding alone becomes limiting. Public markets offer permanence, liquidity, and scale — at the cost of scrutiny.
What an OpenAI IPO would actually represent
It wouldn’t just be another tech listing.
It would be public markets underwriting the cost of intelligence itself:
how expensive reasoning is
how scalable intelligence becomes
where margins stabilize
whether AI behaves like software or infrastructure
That’s a brand-new category for public investors.
Anthropic: possibly the “first mover” among AI labs
Anthropic’s rumored IPO path looks more conventional — which is why it may be the most realistic first mover.
Why Anthropic could go first
1) Enterprise-first positioning
Anthropic emphasizes reliability, safety, and enterprise use cases — things public markets understand well.
2) Cleaner governance narrative
Compared to OpenAI, Anthropic’s structure is easier to explain and defend.
3) Competitive signaling
If Anthropic lists first, it becomes the public benchmark for AI labs — forcing real comparisons instead of speculation.
Anthropic going public would create a visible, tradable reference point for AI valuation.
What could stop these IPOs (even if preparation is real)
Nothing is guaranteed.
1) Market volatility
A weak market can delay everything.
2) Regulation and geopolitics
AI labs sit at the intersection of safety regulation, national security, export controls, and data governance.
3) Valuation pressure
Public markets are unforgiving if:
revenue lags expectations
compute costs stay high
margins compress
competition accelerates
4) Internal readiness
Being public requires:
mature financial reporting
predictable metrics
governance stability
disclosure discipline
Preparation can take years.
What to watch in 2026 (signals that actually matter)
Ignore headlines. Watch for:
public-company finance and compliance hires
formal banking relationships
clearer revenue segmentation
audited disclosures
regulatory filings (even confidential ones)
Those are the real signals.
Why this matters for web developers, SaaS founders, and agencies
This isn’t just investor gossip.
If these companies move toward public markets:
1) AI products become more structured
Expect:
clearer pricing
longer contracts
fewer experimental features
stronger enterprise focus
2) Compliance becomes a selling point
Auditability, reliability, and governance will matter more for businesses integrating AI into production systems.
3) AI costs become visible and optimized
Public scrutiny forces platforms to:
optimize compute
stabilize pricing
expose usage more clearly
Builders who design efficient, resilient AI systems will benefit.
Bottom line
The right framing today is simple:
These IPOs are not confirmed
But preparation behavior appears real
And the direction is clear
Whether in 2026 or later, AI and space infrastructure are moving toward public-market reality.
If even one of these companies goes public, it won’t just be a big IPO — it will be the moment the next platform shift becomes priced, scrutinized, and debated in real time by the global market.