OpenAI hits a $1 trillion valuation in race with SpaceX to become AI’s first mega IPO

OpenAI has reached an implied $1 trillion valuation ahead of a potential IPO, based on pricing from onchain pre-IPO instruments linked to SPV exposure through Jupiter. These instruments are giving traders a real-time sense of how the market values the company before it officially goes public.

The implied valuation has surged about 163% since October 2025, when early discussions of a trillion-dollar IPO first started circulating. SpaceX is reportedly aiming even higher, with expectations above $1.7 trillion, while Anthropic is also approaching the $1 trillion mark.

OpenAI was originally founded with the goal of building artificial intelligence that benefits humanity and avoids concentration of power among a few dominant companies. That mission set it apart from tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, which built their ecosystems around more controlled and closed business models.

Rising costs force a shift in strategy

In its early years, OpenAI focused heavily on open research and sharing advancements. Over time, that approach became harder to maintain. Unlike traditional software, AI systems require constant computing power to operate. Every interaction carries a cost in processing, energy, and hardware usage.

Even simple interactions, like a single ChatGPT prompt and response, can cost a few cents. More complex outputs, such as high-quality images, cost even more. At scale, with billions of daily requests, those costs grow rapidly.

Much of the infrastructure depends on high-end GPUs, largely supplied by Nvidia. These chips are expensive to acquire and operate, and large-scale AI systems require tens of thousands of them running continuously in data centers. Estimates suggest total investment in AI infrastructure could reach hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the decade.

Faced with these realities, OpenAI moved away from a purely nonprofit model. In 2019, it adopted a hybrid structure that allowed it to raise capital while keeping some level of oversight tied to its original mission.

ChatGPT drives explosive growth

The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 marked a turning point. The platform reached 100 million users within two months, and by early 2026 it had grown to more than 900 million weekly users.

Revenue followed the same trajectory. OpenAI went from roughly $200 million in 2022 to over $10 billion in 2025 — an extraordinary jump in a short period.

Today, the company generates income through a mix of consumer subscriptions and enterprise offerings. Individual plans range from about $20 to $200 per month, while business pricing typically falls between $25 and $60 per user monthly. For large organizations, that can translate into millions in annual revenue.

Competition heats up as rivals face challenges

While OpenAI moves closer to a public listing, competitors are navigating their own issues. Anthropic, for example, recently faced criticism over confusion surrounding the pricing of its Claude Code product.

The situation began when users noticed changes on the pricing page suggesting the tool might no longer be included in lower-tier plans. That raised concerns that access could require a much more expensive subscription.

Anthropic later clarified that existing users were not affected and described the change as a limited test impacting only a small portion of new users.

During the confusion, OpenAI executives, including Sam Altman, took the opportunity to highlight their own competing product, Codex. The moment turned into a brief public exchange on social media, drawing additional attention to the rivalry between the two companies.

As the race toward a potential IPO intensifies, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic are all positioning themselves at the center of what could become one of the biggest waves of tech listings in years.