OpenAI IPO: Altman Wants $1T+, But Losses Are High

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, reportedly won't take the company public for less than a $1 trillion valuation. He likely sees the success of SpaceX's IPO as a benchmark. SpaceX's market cap quickly soared to over $2 trillion after going public. What's interesting is that over 90% of SpaceX's total addressable market actually deals with AI, making a comparison to OpenAI more relevant than it seems. OpenAI generated about $13 billion in revenue in 2025 and is currently generating around $2 billion per month in sales for 2026. This trend suggests full-year 2026 revenue could be around $24 billion, indicating at least 100% annual sales growth. However, profitability is a challenge. OpenAI reportedly had a net loss of $38.5 billion in 2025 and an $8.5 billion net loss in the first quarter of 2026. This reflects the high capital intensity of building AI infrastructure. Altman has stated he's not excited to be a public company CEO, and while OpenAI did file for an IPO in early June, the timing remains undecided. An IPO may not happen until 2027. The bottom line is that investors will need to wait for more concrete details to compare OpenAI and SpaceX as investment opportunities.