A generation of private companies finally releases what it has been holding
SpaceX aims for $1.5T valuation in H2 2026, potentially becoming history's largest IPO, surpassing Saudi Aramco's 2019 record. OpenAI, Anthropic, and other tech giants planning 2026 debuts signal AI sector confidence and massive capital needs for technological advancement.
- SpaceX targets $30 billion IPO in H2 2026, aiming for $1.5 trillion valuation
- OpenAI planning $60 billion raise at $1 trillion+ valuation in H2 2026
- Anthropic, Kraken, Stripe, Databricks, and Canva also planning 2026 debuts
- U.S. IPO market collapsed from $155.8 billion in 2021 to $8.6 billion in 2022
SpaceX and OpenAI plan historic IPOs in 2026 that could reshape global capital markets, with SpaceX targeting $30B and OpenAI seeking $60B, ending a two-year IPO drought.
The IPO market has been starved for years. After the frenzy of 2021—when American companies alone raised $155.8 billion through public offerings—the bottom fell out. By 2022, that figure had collapsed to $8.6 billion. The recovery has been slow and modest: $22.2 billion in 2023, $33 billion in 2024, and $59 billion in the first half of 2025. Wall Street has been waiting for something to break the pattern, some signal that the appetite for new public companies had returned. That signal is coming in 2026, and it will arrive with the force of a rocket launch.
Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to go public in the second half of next year, seeking to raise $30 billion—a sum that would make it the largest initial public offering in history. The company's board, including Musk, expects the offering to value SpaceX at $1.5 trillion, which would immediately place it among the ten most valuable publicly traded companies on Earth, alongside firms like TSMC and Saudi Aramco. The previous record holder was Saudi Aramco itself, which raised $29.4 billion in 2019. If SpaceX succeeds, it will shatter that benchmark.
But SpaceX will not be alone. OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, is planning its own debut in the second half of 2026. According to reporting from Reuters and other sources, the company could be valued at more than $1 trillion and is expected to raise approximately $60 billion—a figure that would dwarf not only SpaceX's offering but also the largest IPOs in history, including those of Alibaba and SoftBank. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, has not disclosed specific timing but acknowledged in October that a public offering is "the most likely option for us, given the capital needs we'll have." Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude and founded by former OpenAI executives Dario and Daniela Amodei, is also preparing for a 2026 debut. The firm has hired Wilson Sonsini, the law firm that guided Google, LinkedIn, and Lyft through their IPOs, to manage the process. Anthropic is currently valued at $300 billion.
These three companies alone represent roughly $2.9 trillion in combined value—a concentration of capital that signals a fundamental shift in how markets view technology and artificial intelligence. Beyond the AI giants, a secondary wave of debuts is forming. Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, has formally requested permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public in 2026 with a valuation of $20 billion. Blockchain.com, another crypto firm, is preparing a 2026 debut through a special purpose acquisition company at a $7 billion valuation, down sharply from its $14 billion peak in 2021. Canva, the design platform, is expected to debut in late 2026 after its CEO, Simón Borrero, determined that market conditions were not yet suitable in 2025. Stripe, the payments processor, could be valued at more than $65 billion. Databricks, a data and AI platform, is anticipated to go public in early 2026 at a valuation of $134 billion. Even Manner Coffee, a Chinese coffee chain backed by ByteDance, is planning a Hong Kong listing with aspirations to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.
The conditions that created the IPO drought are now reversing. For years, high interest rates drained liquidity from the market and compressed valuations, making public offerings unattractive to companies that could afford to remain private. Geopolitical shocks, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and a series of disappointing debuts further dampened enthusiasm. But interest rates have begun to stabilize. The European Central Bank has cut its benchmark rate to around 2 percent, down from 4.5 percent in 2024. The Federal Reserve completed a rate cut on Wednesday, bringing its range to between 3.5 and 3.75 percent, down from a peak of 5.5 percent. The path forward remains uncertain—the incoming American administration could accelerate cuts or reverse course—but for now, the pressure on valuations has eased.
Morgan Stanley predicted in December that 2026 would be a historic season for both mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. The Swiss private bank EFG has characterized the expected activity as a "normalization" after years of scarcity. The firm noted that companies have been choosing to remain private longer, building greater scale before entering public markets. Yet the convergence of three forces—stabilized interest rates, massive capital requirements in artificial intelligence and space technology, and a generation of private companies now mature enough to go public—suggests that 2026 will be far more than a return to normal. It will be a reckoning, a moment when the private markets finally release the companies they have been holding.
Notable Quotes
I think it's fair to say that is the most likely option for us, given the capital needs we'll have.— Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, on a potential IPO
We expect to take the leap soon, in late 2026, when we believe the right context will exist.— Simón Borrero, Canva CEO, on timing for a public offering
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does SpaceX's IPO matter so much more than, say, Canva's or Stripe's? They're all big companies.
Scale and symbolism. SpaceX would be the largest IPO ever—larger than Saudi Aramco, larger than anything. It signals that the market is ready to bet on moonshots again, literally. When the biggest company in the world goes public, it changes the conversation.
But OpenAI is raising more money—$60 billion versus SpaceX's $30 billion.
True, but SpaceX's valuation is higher. OpenAI is raising more because it needs more capital to keep training models. Both are saying the same thing: we are worth more than we can possibly spend, and we need the public markets to fuel what comes next.
What broke the IPO market in the first place?
Interest rates, mainly. When the Fed was raising rates aggressively, companies could stay private and grow without the scrutiny and cost of being public. The math didn't work. Now that rates are stabilizing, the math changes.
Is there a risk this all falls apart?
Yes. A geopolitical shock, a sudden rate spike, or a disappointing debut could freeze the market again. But right now, the momentum is real. These companies have been waiting years to go public. They're not going to wait much longer.
What does it mean that so many AI companies are going public at once?
It means the market is finally pricing in that AI is not a bubble—it's infrastructure. These companies need capital to compete, and they're confident enough to ask for it publicly. That's a statement about where we are in the cycle.