May 20 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX moved closer to going public with its IPO filing on Wednesday, as the billionaire’s rocket-and-satellite company looks to beat OpenAI and Anthropic to the new listings market.
Wall Street is betting 2026 could be a breakout year for the U.S. IPO market, underpinned by a strong pipeline of high-profile private companies and pent-up demand for new listings.
Goldman Sachs predicted earlier this year that proceeds from U.S. IPOs could vault to a record $160 billion in 2026, should the marquee names go public this year.
But risks linger, as geopolitical uncertainty and ongoing structural disruptions have become a persistent feature in the landscape, stoking higher volatility across equities.
Here is an overview of some of the mega IPOs expected in 2026:
SPACEX
Elon Musk’s SpaceX filed publicly for its hotly anticipated U.S. initial public offering on Wednesday, moving the firm closer to what could be the biggest stock market flotation ever.
SpaceX has accelerated its IPO timeline, with a roadshow launch targeted for June 4 and the share sale as early as June 11, Reuters reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
In February, SpaceX acquired Musk’s artificial-intelligence startup xAI in a record-setting deal, unifying his AI and space ambitions by combining the company with the maker of the Grok chatbot.
If SpaceX raises more than $25.6 billion, it would be the world’s largest IPO, eclipsing oil major Saudi Aramco’s 2019 listing.
OPENAI
OpenAI was laying the groundwork for an IPO that could value it at up to $1 trillion, with the ChatGPT maker considering filing with securities regulators as soon as the second half of 2026, Reuters reported last year.
OpenAI Chief Financial Officer had said at the time an IPO was not in the company’s near-term plans.
ANTHROPIC
Claude-maker Anthropic hired law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for an IPO that could take place as early as 2026, the Financial Times reported in December.
An Anthropic spokesperson told Reuters at the time that the company had not decided when or if it would go public.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Pooja Desai)