There are big IPOs, and then there is whatever is about to happen in 2026. According to PitchBook analysis, the anticipated public listings of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX could collectively produce an exit value that exceeds the total from every US venture-backed IPO since 2000. Not a particularly good year. Not a record quarter. All of them, combined, across 25 years.
SpaceX alone is reportedly targeting a raise of $75 billion through the offering of 555.6 million shares priced at $135 each. The implied valuation sits at approximately $1.77 trillion, a figure that would make it the largest IPO in recorded history.
The numbers are almost unreasonably large
Anthropic, founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees with a core focus on AI safety, is currently valued at around $965 billion following a recent $65 billion funding round. OpenAI, the company that effectively sparked the current AI supercycle, carries a private valuation of approximately $852 billion. Both have reportedly made confidential filings with the SEC within the last 30 to 60 days.
To understand what this means for venture capital, consider the prior benchmark. The record year for US VC-backed IPO proceeds was 2021, when 198 deals generated $62.1 billion in total. A single SpaceX listing is anticipated to rival or surpass that entire figure on its own.