ChatGPT maker OpenAI said Monday it filed preliminary paperwork that would open the door for it to become a publicly traded company, capping a wave of initial preparations that would see a trio of artificial intelligence and tech majors racing to Wall Street debuts.
The San Francisco-based company said it has filed confidential paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"We expect it to leak, so we're just announcing it," the company said in a public statement.
"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. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs, and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best."
OpenAI's move follows its rival Anthropic's June 1 disclosure that it is also moving toward an initial public offering (IPO) of shares. Both are now following Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX, which has started an IPO roadshow pitching itself as an AI-focused space company.
