OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is preparing to file for an initial public offering in the coming days or weeks, according to a report Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal. People familiar with the matter have told the publication that the AI company, led by CEO Sam Altman, is actively working with bankers in preparation for the filing. 

OpenAI's popular chatbot continues to shape public perception of AI, despite strides made by competitors such as Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude. ChatGPT, which relies on a large language model trained to mimic human writing, remains the most widely used, but it's far from the only game in town. 

Both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been assisting OpenAI in drafting IPO documentation and may file it with regulators as soon as Friday, according to The Journal.

On Monday, a jury dismissed all claims in Elon Musk's lawsuit against Altman, which paved the way for IPO talks. 

OpenAI could make its public debut as soon as September, but the plan could change, The Journal reported. Whether the company can generate enough revenue to support its spending is an uncertainty that may concern prospective investors.

An OpenAI representative didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.) 

A pivotal moment 

An IPO for OpenAI is a high-stakes event: Opening its books to the public presents opportunities and risks. Selling shares can raise billions of dollars and garner a lot of interest and capital, which could, in turn, fund the immense computing power needed to train next-generation AI models. 

"OpenAI is one of the rare private companies whose products are already used daily by hundreds of millions of users," says assistant professor of finance at Cornell University, Minmo Gahng. "That kind of household-name recognition could generate substantial retail demand and support a richer valuation than fundamentals alone would justify."

At the same time, AI hype is at an all-time high. Public companies must regularly disclose financial records, and investors could panic if revenue growth doesn't keep pace with OpenAI's astronomical operational and infrastructure expenses. If the stock debuts at an inflated price, any minor setback could trigger a stock crash. 

Going public also invites scrutiny and oversight from regulatory agencies, like the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could expose hidden liabilities, data privacy lawsuits or copyright issues.

A public market rush is underway among SpaceX and Anthropic, as well. The timing of OpenAI's public offering marks a sprint to tap into public capital and set Wall Street's valuation rules for the entire AI sector. A major bottleneck in the AI race is compute power -- physical servers, chips, and data centers required to train and power AI models and systems.