May 21, 2026 — According to sources familiar with the matter, OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file a draft IPO prospectus as early as this Friday (May 22). As the company behind ChatGPT that has ignited a global AI boom, OpenAI’s public debut could become one of the largest tech IPOs in U.S. history if all goes smoothly.
While OpenAI races toward a potential trillion-dollar IPO, everyday investors face what seems like an insurmountable barrier: traditional pre-IPO investments typically require a minimum commitment of several million dollars. Gate Pre-IPOs’ digital solution, however, is breaking down these barriers.
OpenAI IPO Update: Earliest Listing in September, Eyes $1 Trillion Valuation
Countdown to "Confidential Filing": May 22 as a Key Milestone
According to reports from CLS, OpenAI is working with multiple investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, to draft its IPO documents, with plans to submit them in the coming days or weeks. Sources indicate OpenAI is targeting a public listing as early as September 2026. The timing is no coincidence—just one day prior, SpaceX officially filed its own IPO documents, with both trillion-dollar giants vying for the same pool of Wall Street capital.
As of now, OpenAI has not officially announced its IPO, and all information remains at the "preparation for filing" stage. However, with investment banks already drafting the prospectus, this round of IPO rumors is far more credible than any previous speculation.
$852 Billion Valuation Confirmed, Trillion-Dollar Target in Sight
On March 31, 2026, OpenAI officially announced it had secured $122 billion in committed investments, bringing its post-money valuation to $852 billion. This round included strategic partners such as Amazon, NVIDIA, and SoftBank, with Microsoft continuing its participation. The widely rumored "$1 trillion IPO valuation" comes from insiders familiar with the company’s listing targets.
Backing up this lofty valuation is a set of core business metrics disclosed by OpenAI: ChatGPT now boasts over 900 million weekly active users, more than 50 million subscribers, and monthly revenue reaching $2 billion.
SoftBank Gains, Anthropic Close Behind
News of OpenAI’s IPO preparations sent shares of major stakeholder SoftBank soaring by 20% on the day of the announcement. By the end of March 2026, SoftBank had recorded approximately $45 billion in unrealized gains from its OpenAI investment. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s main competitor, Anthropic, has also engaged a legal team to advance its own IPO process, with an expected listing valuation of around $380 billion. The capital race in AI is rapidly shifting from private to public markets.
OpenAI’s Value and Challenges: Fundamentals Behind the Trillion-Dollar Valuation
AI Sector Accelerates, Global AI Spending Projected to Hit $2.59 Trillion
From an industry perspective, OpenAI’s IPO push coincides with a historic expansion phase for AI. According to Gartner’s latest forecast released on May 19, 2026, global AI spending is expected to reach $2.59 trillion in 2026, up 47% year-over-year. Spending on AI models alone is projected to grow at 110% in the short term, with annual expenditures increasing by an additional $6 billion.
In this high-growth arena, OpenAI has leveraged ChatGPT’s traffic advantage and a comprehensive model portfolio to capture 61.7% of global large language model market share as of February 2026.
Massive Losses and Fierce Competition: Two Major IPO Roadblocks
Behind the impressive numbers, OpenAI faces significant challenges. According to its latest financial report dated May 22, 2026, OpenAI generated approximately $5.7 billion in first-quarter revenue. However, even excluding stock-based compensation and similar items, its profit margin stood at -122%, leaving the company deep in the red. OpenAI expects to burn through $25 billion in cash for the full year, with an internal revenue target of $30 billion.
On the competitive front, OpenAI is facing strong headwinds from Anthropic. According to fintech platform Ramp’s AI Index Report published in May 2026, 34.4% of surveyed enterprise clients paid for Anthropic’s AI products in April, surpassing OpenAI’s 32.3% for the first time. Anthropic’s annualized revenue has reached approximately $4.4 billion, and the company continues to expand its presence in the enterprise services market.
Additionally, on May 18, OpenAI successfully defeated a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk, removing a major legal obstacle and clearing a key path for its IPO.
Gate Pre-IPOs: A Digital Solution Breaking Traditional Barriers
The "Triple Barriers" of Traditional Pre-IPO Investing
Traditionally, pre-IPO investment has been dominated by top venture capital firms, sovereign wealth funds, and high-net-worth individuals. In 2024, global pre-IPO secondary market trading volume reached $160 billion, with individual deals typically exceeding $10 million. Everyday investors face three nearly insurmountable barriers:
- Capital Barrier: Minimum investment thresholds of several million dollars
- Accreditation Barrier: Strict "accredited investor" certification required
- Liquidity Barrier: Funds often locked up for years before exit
Tokenization Reshapes Access
In April 2026, Gate officially launched its digital Pre-IPOs participation mechanism, opening early-stage investment opportunities—once reserved for institutions and ultra-high-net-worth individuals—to over 53 million users worldwide.
The core mechanism involves tokenizing traditional pre-IPO equity or financing rights on the blockchain, creating digital assets that can be subscribed to and traded on the platform.
Users don’t need to open overseas brokerage accounts or meet high net worth thresholds. Participation and trading require only holding USDT or other stablecoins. This mechanism lowers the minimum investment from millions of dollars to just 100 USDT, and any global user who completes KYC can participate—no accredited investor status required.
The PreToken Mechanism: Solving the Liquidity Challenge
Another major innovation of Gate Pre-IPOs is the PreToken minting and settlement mechanism. Users stake USDT to mint PreTokens representing future token rights, which can be freely traded on the order book market. When the company goes public, the system automatically executes a 1:1 asset conversion.
This approach fundamentally solves the liquidity and long lock-up issues of traditional private equity markets, providing users with a 24/7 instant trading environment.
From SpaceX to OpenAI: Real-World Case Studies
On April 9, 2026, Gate officially launched its digital Pre-IPOs mechanism, debuting with SpaceX (asset certificate code: SPCX). The subscription price was $590 per SPCX, with a minimum entry of 100 USDT. Within 24 hours of the subscription opening, total subscriptions exceeded $353 million.
Gate’s "average hourly locked amount" allocation method—where earlier participation and longer lock-up periods yield higher allocation weights—further lowers the bar for fair participation.
With ongoing speculation around the OpenAI IPO, Gate Pre-IPOs is poised to become the primary channel for everyday investors to gain early exposure to super-unicorns like OpenAI.
Conclusion
2026 is shaping up to be a "super year" for IPOs. OpenAI is expected to confidentially file as early as May 22, aiming for a September debut with a valuation exceeding $1 trillion. This is not only the most anticipated public offering in AI industry history, but also marks the formal shift of the AI capital race from private to public markets.
At the same time, global AI spending is projected to reach $2.59 trillion in 2026, with AI model spending growing at an astonishing 110%. The sector is undergoing unprecedented expansion. Yet OpenAI itself still faces massive quarterly losses with a -122% profit margin, as well as fierce competition from Anthropic in the enterprise services market.
Against this backdrop, Gate Pre-IPOs leverages tokenization and the PreToken minting and settlement mechanism to lower the traditional pre-IPO investment threshold from millions of dollars to just 100 USDT, while providing 24/7 instant trading that breaks the years-long liquidity lock of conventional models. For everyday investors, Gate Pre-IPOs offers a truly accessible window to participate in early-stage investments in trillion-dollar unicorns like OpenAI.
FAQ
Q: Will OpenAI really go public in 2026?
A: According to the latest media reports, OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file a draft IPO prospectus as early as May 22, targeting a listing as soon as September 2026. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are involved in drafting the IPO documents. However, as of now, there are no public SEC filings or official IPO announcements from OpenAI, so the timeline could still change.
Q: What valuation is expected for OpenAI’s IPO?
A: In its last private funding round in March 2026, OpenAI was valued at $852 billion. Market rumors suggest the IPO target valuation could exceed $1 trillion. If OpenAI lists at a $1 trillion valuation, it would rank as the 14th largest company globally by market capitalization.
Q: What is Gate Pre-IPOs, and how can I participate?
A: Gate Pre-IPOs is a digital pre-IPO participation mechanism launched by Gate, which uses tokenization to package traditional pre-IPO rights as digital assets that can be subscribed to and traded on the platform. After completing KYC verification, users can participate with as little as 100 USDT—no need for accredited investor status or overseas brokerage accounts.
Q: Is my capital safe with Gate Pre-IPOs?
A: Gate Pre-IPOs uses a PreToken minting and settlement mechanism. Users stake USDT to mint PreTokens representing future token rights, and when the company goes public, the system automatically performs a 1:1 asset conversion. However, pre-IPO investing is inherently risky, with uncertainties around valuation, listing timelines, and potential liquidity risks. Investors should carefully assess their own risk tolerance before participating.
Q: Have ordinary investors historically been able to participate in pre-IPO investments?
A: Traditionally, pre-IPO investments have been dominated by institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, with minimum thresholds typically in the millions of dollars and strict accreditation requirements. Gate Pre-IPOs’ 100 USDT minimum represents the first time such opportunities have been widely opened to regular users globally.
