OpenAI confidentially files for IPO
Notice posted to their website:
We recently submitted a confidential S-1. We expect it to leak so we’re just announcing it. We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company. But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.
This announcement is being made pursuant to Rule 135 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offers, solicitations of offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
"By 2030, OpenAI projects that ads will be the single biggest revenue driver of its business”. — CNN via The Information
Replies
Curious what this means for users in the long run. Do you think an IPO could change the way OpenAI approaches products and pricing?
@gwendolyn_kira Thanks for sharing this. the timing is definetly interesting given how quickly the AI space is changing.
The "ads as biggest revenue driver by 2030" line is the part worth sitting with. It quietly reframes what these models are optimized for — today it's usefulness, but ad-driven incentives historically pull products toward engagement over utility. As someone building on top of their API, that shift in incentives matters more to me than the IPO timing itself. Curious whether infra/API pricing stays founder-friendly once ad revenue dominates.
Started as a non-profit to save humanity from AGI. Now: 'Trust us bro, ads will be our #1 revenue driver by 2030.' The pivot was faster than GPT-4o.
Interesting, remember when it started as a non-profit organization. Now "ads will be our #1 revenue driver by 2030."
@eduard_grabchak - huge debt, gotta get it paid back some how!
Good to know