From OpenAI to Anthropic, AI is ready for the IPO waltz

The 2026 stock market is sailing along on a positive note, with indices in the area of highs and appetite for technology stocks recovering after declines in previous quarters. In this context, the IPO narrative is focusing on some of the major players in artificial intelligence and data. Companies that have been operating virtuously in the private sector for a few years now, but could make the leap to the stock market by the end of the year. Some of these are highly anticipated by investors, not least because they are candidates to become immediate Big Tech players.

This is the case with OpenAI and Anthropic, for instance, two of the companies most involved in the AI boom. More secluded, but nevertheless, expected, are the IPOs of Databricks and xAI, the AI reality linked to Elon Musk, which is a possible attractive outsider for investors.

But let us go in order. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is at the centre of market discussions for a possible listing. According to reports based on informed sources, the company has begun preparing the necessary dossiers for an IPO that could take place in the second half of 2026 and that some advisors see as potentially valuing the company at up to around USD 1 trillion based on growth prospects and demand for generative AI on a global scale. The goal of raising fresh capital responds to the huge investment needs in infrastructure, data centres and the development of proprietary technologies.

Anthropic, a direct competitor of OpenAI with its chatbot Claude, has also taken steps towards a possible IPO in 2026, according to a Financial Times report. The company has hired legal advisors to explore an IPO and is aiming to strengthen its ability to raise capital to support expansion. In recent funding rounds, Anthropic's valuation was estimated at more than $300 billion, reflecting the interest of investors such as Microsoft and Nvidia and rapid revenue growth.

Databricks, on the other hand, occupies a slightly different position because it does not deal with intelligent chatbots. It is a data and analytics platform, providing critical infrastructure for large-scale enterprise AI applications. The company recently raised funds at a valuation of around $134 billion, with fast-growing revenues and extensive partnerships with other big AI names. Although its IPO has not been officially announced, the fact that Databricks is so valued in the private market and so central to the enterprise adoption of AI places it among the most likely IPOs, if market sentiment remains favourable.