OpenAI Plans to Go Public Next Year: "It's Fine if We're Later Than Anthropic"

Second-Quarter Revenue Surpassed by Anthropic for the First Time
"Must Prove the $852 Billion Valuation"

Reuters Yonhap News

It has been reported that OpenAI is planning to postpone its stock market listing, originally scheduled for this year, to next year. The direct reason cited for this delay is concern that the company's valuation could deteriorate, as OpenAI was overtaken in sales for the first time by Anthropic, a rival in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, in the second quarter of this year.

According to CNBC, on August 19 (local time), Sarah Friar, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of OpenAI, said at a company-wide meeting held that day, "OpenAI will become a publicly listed company next year," adding, "If our business trajectory continues to improve, we could go public even sooner." Her comments publicly acknowledged that pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) within this year has effectively become unlikely.

Friar, CFO, stated, "An IPO is not a finish line, but a milestone, merely another stage of capital-raising," adding, "We already raised $122 billion (approximately 170 trillion KRW) last March, and these funds give us flexibility." She continued, "Anthropic may announce its listing in September, but that's fine. We are following our own path."

After submitting a confidential IPO filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following Anthropic this June, OpenAI was expected to go public this year. However, as the company faced criticism that its valuation was overestimated, there have been growing expectations that a listing within this year would be difficult.

In particular, market expectations for OpenAI's listing this year have been substantially dampened as it was overtaken by Anthropic in sales for the first time in the second quarter. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), OpenAI's second-quarter revenue was $6.7 billion, an 18% increase from the previous quarter. However, it also recorded an operating loss of $12.3 billion. In contrast, Anthropic's revenue in the second quarter more than doubled compared to the previous quarter, reaching $11.6 billion, with an operating profit of $559 million. Anthropic achieved profitability for the first time since its founding in 2021. In terms of both revenue and profitability, commentators noted that Anthropic has clearly outperformed OpenAI.

The wave of successive resignations among OpenAI's senior management has also heightened the sense of unease among employees and investors. This year alone, key executives such as former Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap, former Applications CEO Fijji Simo, and former Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rauch have all left the company.

There are concerns that even if OpenAI postpones its listing to next year, it will be difficult to generate excitement unless it demonstrates profitability and organizational stability. CNBC pointed out, "Having fallen behind Anthropic in the AI industry, OpenAI now faces the challenge of proving not only its target $1 trillion valuation, but also that the $852 billion valuation assessed in March is justified."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.