SpaceX is reportedly on track to go public as soon as this June. OpenAI is working with investment bankers on its own path to the public markets. Anthropic is generating the kind of revenue growth investors want to see. As a result, something may be about to happen that has been too rare in recent years: big new opportunities for the public to invest in America’s most dynamic growth companies.This would be welcome. For too long, venture funds, private equity firms, wealthy investors, and insiders have scooped up the first chance to profit from the most innovative companies, while Main Street investors have been forced to wait until the companies are bigger, older, and much of the upside is already gone.The universe of public companies has shrunk dramatically. The number of U.S. exchange-listed companies has fallen from roughly 7,800 in 1997 to about 4,700 today, meaning many of America’s most dynamic businesses spend more of their high-growth years out of reach of ordinary investors.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins says reversing that trend is central to his agenda to “Make IPOs Great Again.” The SEC’s recent proposals to simplify filer-status categories, expand scaled disclosure, and reduce unnecessary burdens on small and mid-sized companies are a step in the right direction.
