This year, expectations are growing for mega initial public offerings (IPOs) in the U.S. capital market. Several corporations that have already reshaped the global industrial landscape while unlisted are considering going public one after another.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 31st of last month (local time), SpaceX, the space corporations led by Elon Musk, as well as artificial intelligence (AI) developers OpenAI and Anthropic, are preparing to list this year. The market notes that if the IPOs of these three corporations materialize, it could become the largest listing event in U.S. stock market history.
SpaceX is said to have been valued at about $800 billion (about 1,157 trillion won) in recent unlisted stock transactions. OpenAI is currently valued at about $500 billion (about 723 trillion won) on the over-the-counter market. If new investment goes through, there is talk that its valuation could exceed $750 billion (about 1,085 trillion won). Anthropic is also expected to be valued at about $300 billion (about 434 trillion won).
The amount these corporations could raise through IPOs is expected to reach tens of billions of dollars. As a result, some analysts say that even if only one of the three lists, it could dwarf the entire U.S. IPO market of the past few years. In fact, through the third quarter of 2025, newly listed corporations in the U.S. IPO market raised about $30 billion (about 43.4 trillion won).
Peter Ebert, co-founder of Lux Capital, told the FT, "It is hard to find precedent for three unlisted corporations that could become the world's largest by market capitalization preparing to list at the same time," adding, "If they all go public, it will be a historic opportunity for the venture investment industry and the broader financial markets."
Market experts see a high possibility that the three corporations will debut on the stock market in 2026. SpaceX executives recently told investors that "barring a major market shock, we plan to pursue a listing within the next 12 months." Anthropic has hired the major U.S. law firm Wilson Sonsini to prepare for an IPO, and OpenAI is also said to be in discussions on a listing with major law firms.
However, external conditions are still seen as variables. Due to President Donald Trump's tariff policy and the impact of a U.S. government shutdown, the IPO market has temporarily cooled, led by large technology corporations. Adding to that, with recent concerns about a bubble across the AI industry, uncertainty is increasing as some large technology stocks undergo corrections.