The AI IPO stampede is officially on.

OpenAI Inc. on Monday announced it has submitted a confidential draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the SEC — a disclosure the company made in unusually candid fashion.

"We recently submitted a confidential S-1.

We expect it to leak so we're just announcing it," OpenAI said in a statement on its website.

"We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company.