OpenAI files for IPO as Apple lawsuit and leadership gap threaten timing

Anthropic’s earlier filing pressures OpenAI to move fast

OpenAI filed paperwork for an initial public offering with regulators last month, according to The Wall Street Journal, but the company is navigating a set of developments that could complicate its path to market. The Journal reported that the company’s relationship with Microsoft — to which Sam Altman “hitched himself closely,” according to the Journal — has grown more distant. OpenAI’s ChatGPT product is no longer the undisputed market leader, the Journal reported, and rival Anthropic has surpassed it in private-market valuation.

The IPO timing is further complicated by a Friday lawsuit from Apple, which accused OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. The Wall Street Journal reported that the suit could rattle investors even if it does not succeed, in part because AI devices that compete with Apple’s iPhones are a significant part of OpenAI’s growth strategy. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, posted on X that he was “not afraid” of Apple, according to the Journal.

Leadership changes also loom. The Journal reported that Altman’s number-two executive is departing for medical reasons, and that it would be “less than ideal” to launch an IPO before finding a replacement. Altman himself survived an attempted ouster two years ago, the Journal noted.

The company faces pressure from the calendar. Anthropic, which has filed to go public before OpenAI, is expected to make its market debut next year, the Journal reported. If OpenAI waits, it risks cementing its status as an erstwhile AI leader that fell behind, the Journal reported. If it moves quickly, it must do so amid legal challenges and a leadership transition.

The Wall Street Journal reported that neither choice is without peril, but that the growing list of challenges strengthens the argument for OpenAI to move fast and raise what capital it can before its troubles intensify.