AI Company Public Market Access: S&P 500 Rejects SpaceX Fast-Track, Closing Path for OpenAI and Anthropic · history
Version 4
2026-06-09 18:27 UTC · 232 items
What
Both Anthropic and OpenAI have now filed confidential S-1 registration statements with the SEC — Anthropic on June 1 and OpenAI on June 8, 2026. [8][9][19] OpenAI confirmed the filing but stated no timeline is set and it "may be a while" before an offering. [11] S&P Dow Jones Indices rejected rule changes on June 4 that would have fast-tracked these companies into the S&P 500, maintaining its GAAP profitability requirement. [1][2] SpaceX's IPO — targeting roughly $1.75 trillion — is expected around June 12. [15] Perplexity, a smaller rival, says it plans a 2028 IPO regardless of how the earlier offerings trade. [16]
Why it matters
Both leading frontier AI companies have now formally entered the public-market process within eight days of each other, setting up the first direct tests of how investors value frontier AI at near-trillion-dollar scale. Neither meets the S&P 500's profitability standard, so roughly $30 trillion in passive index funds cannot automatically buy either company until they demonstrate sustained GAAP earnings — a bar that may take years to reach. [1][5]
Open questions
OpenAI said no timeline is set and it 'may be a while' — will it actually price before the end of 2026, and does the Polymarket 71% odds estimate reflect real information or just the filing news? [11][17]
How will SpaceX's actual trading performance this week affect investor appetite and valuation expectations for Anthropic and OpenAI when they do price? [20]
Will the S-1 disclosures, once public, reveal a credible path to GAAP profitability for either company — the threshold required for eventual S&P 500 inclusion? [1][18]
Perplexity's CEO argues the next phase of AI will favor compute efficiency over raw scale — does that thesis get validated or refuted by how frontier AI companies are valued in their public offerings? [16]
Narrative
S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on June 4, 2026 that it would not change its S&P 500 eligibility rules, rejecting proposals that would have waived the profitability requirement and shortened the seasoning window for newly listed companies. [1][2] The proposals had drawn criticism because SpaceX — preparing an IPO at roughly $1.75 trillion — does not meet the existing requirement of positive GAAP earnings in the most recent quarter and cumulatively over the prior four quarters. [3][4] Passive-investor advocates argued the proposed changes would coerce roughly $30 trillion in retirement funds into speculative IPO exposure. [5] Fortune's analysis adds that S&P exclusion is not a complete protection, since 401(k) plans can still hold SpaceX through non-index vehicles. [6] Nasdaq reportedly shortened its seasoning window to 15 days and Russell/FTSE to five days, leaving unresolved whether those smaller-scale inclusions offer a meaningful substitute for S&P 500 passive-fund buying. [7]
Anthropic filed the first formal IPO move among leading AI companies: a confidential S-1 submitted to the SEC on June 1, disclosing a $965 billion post-money valuation from its $65 billion Series H and annualized revenues tracking toward $45 billion. [8] No pricing or share count has been set. Within a week, on June 8, OpenAI filed its own confidential S-1, confirming reports that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were advising on a public offering. [9][10] OpenAI stated publicly that no timeline is fixed and that an actual offering "may be a while" away. [11] Sam Altman had said earlier that OpenAI was not adjusting its plans in response to Anthropic's filing, though the two submissions arrived eight days apart. [12] Separately, OpenAI is reported to be preparing the largest ChatGPT redesign in the product's history — targeting transformation into a superapp covering coding, AI agents, image generation, and business software — timed to precede the offering. [13]
SpaceX's S-1, ahead of an IPO expected around June 12, reportedly disclosed a compute arrangement with Anthropic and Google totaling roughly $26 billion per year for access to its Colossus infrastructure. [14][15] That figure bears directly on Anthropic's cost structure and its timeline to GAAP profitability. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas offered a different posture: the company plans a 2028 IPO and will not accelerate based on how Anthropic, OpenAI, or SpaceX perform in public markets. Srinivas argued the next phase of AI development will favor compute efficiency over raw scale, framing Perplexity's strategy as distinct from the frontier labs. [16]
Polymarket contracts as of June 9 put the odds of an OpenAI IPO completing by December 31, 2026 at 71%. [17] None of the three leading AI companies currently meets the S&P 500's profitability requirement, meaning all will need to demonstrate sustained GAAP earnings before qualifying for index inclusion — a process that, under current rules, takes at least 12 months post-listing. [1][18]
Timeline
- 2026-05-29: Hedgeye and others warn that proposed S&P 500 rule changes would force $30T in passive retirement funds to buy SpaceX at IPO valuations. [5]
- 2026-05-30: SpaceX files an S-1 for an IPO targeting ~$1.75T valuation around June 12, disclosing ~$26B/year in compute revenue from Google and Anthropic. [15][4][14]
- 2026-05-31: Reports emerge that OpenAI is preparing a confidential IPO filing with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, targeting September 2026. [10][28]
- 2026-06-01: Anthropic officially announces confidential S-1 submission to the SEC, disclosing a $965B valuation, $65B Series H, and annualized revenues tracking toward $45B. [8][22]
- 2026-06-04: S&P Dow Jones Indices announces it rejected proposed rule changes, maintaining 12-month seasoning and GAAP profitability requirements for S&P 500 inclusion. [2][21][1]
- 2026-06-05: Fortune argues S&P exclusion does not fully protect retirement savers who may hold SpaceX via 401(k) vehicles outside the index. [6][18]
- 2026-06-07: OpenAI reported to be preparing the largest ChatGPT redesign in the product's history, timed to precede its IPO, targeting transformation into a coding, agent, and business software superapp. [13]
- 2026-06-08: OpenAI files a confidential S-1 with the SEC, its first formal IPO step; the company states no timeline is set and it 'may be a while' before an offering. [9][19][11]
- 2026-06-09: Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas confirms a 2028 IPO target independent of Anthropic/OpenAI/SpaceX performance; Polymarket odds for OpenAI IPO by end of 2026 stand at 71%. [16][17][23]
Perspectives
S&P Dow Jones Indices
Upheld existing S&P 500 eligibility rules on June 4, rejecting proposed changes that would have waived the profitability requirement and shortened the seasoning window.
Evolution: Consistent with historical standards; the outcome reversed what had been rumored as a possible accommodation for SpaceX.
Anthropic
Filed confidential S-1 on June 1, disclosing a $965B valuation and ~$45B annualized revenue run rate; no pricing or share count set.
Evolution: First formal public statement on IPO intentions; prior stance was private-company focus.
Sam Altman / OpenAI
Filed confidential S-1 on June 8, stating no timeline is fixed and the offering 'may be a while' away; separately preparing a major ChatGPT superapp redesign timed to precede the listing.
Evolution: Moved from no stated IPO timeline to active S-1 filing within a week of Anthropic, while publicly downplaying competitive urgency.
Perplexity / Aravind Srinivas
Plans a 2028 IPO regardless of how Anthropic, OpenAI, or SpaceX trade; argues the next AI phase will penalize compute inefficiency, positioning Perplexity as a leaner alternative.
Evolution: New voice in this thread; first public statement on IPO positioning relative to the frontier labs.
Hedgeye / CaridinaCapital
Argued proposed S&P rule changes would coerce passive retirement funds into buying speculative companies at IPO valuations; praised the committee for holding its profitability rule.
Evolution: Alarm proved directionally correct; S&P rejected the changes they warned about.
Fortune
Argues S&P exclusion does not fully protect retirement savers, who may still gain exposure to SpaceX through 401(k) vehicles outside the index.
Evolution: Adds a limit to the protective scope of the S&P decision that passive-investor advocates have not addressed.
Wedbush Securities
Argued Anthropic's S-1 filing could open the IPO pipeline for the broader AI sector.
Evolution: Consistent bullish framing; OpenAI's filing within a week supports the pipeline narrative.
Milk Road AI / contrarian observers
IPO order does not matter in a technology wave; the offering is a financing tool, not a competitive milestone; OpenAI's $122B raised privately already reduces the significance of any listing.
Evolution: Consistent skepticism toward IPO-race framing.
Tensions
- Hedgeye and passive-investor advocates argued proposed S&P 500 rule changes would coerce retirement funds into speculative IPO exposure; S&P sided with them by rejecting the changes — but Fortune argues S&P exclusion still does not fully protect 401(k) investors who can hold SpaceX through non-index vehicles. [5][2][6]
- Altman said publicly OpenAI was not chasing Anthropic's IPO timeline, yet OpenAI filed its own confidential S-1 eight days after Anthropic's filing. [12][9][8]
- Wedbush frames Anthropic's and OpenAI's S-1 filings as potentially opening IPO floodgates for AI; contrarian observers (Milk Road AI) argue IPO timing and order are irrelevant to competitive outcomes in a technology wave. [25][27]
- Perplexity's Srinivas argues the next AI phase favors compute efficiency and a 2028 timeline, implicitly disagreeing with the frontier-lab posture that speed to public markets signals strength. [16][9][8]
- S&P rejected rule changes while Nasdaq reportedly shortened its seasoning window to 15 days and Russell/FTSE to five days, leaving unresolved which index pathway matters most for post-IPO passive-fund inclusion of AI companies. [7][2][1]
Sources
- [1] S&P 500 rejects SpaceX, also blocking entry for OpenAI and Anthropic — Ars Technica AI (2026-06-05)
- [2] S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on June 4, 2026, that it rejected proposed rule changes for faster S&P 500 inclu... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-05)
- [3] @BitcoinCadet @Hedgeye No, SpaceX does not meet the key S&P 500 GAAP profitability rule (positive earnings in the mo... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-05-31)
- [4] SpaceX is going public at a $1.75 trillion valuation. The world's biggest IPO ever. — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-05)
- [5] Hedgeye on X: "Rule changes for the SpaceX $SPCX IPO: Index providers waived the profitability requirement and cut the seasoning window from 90 days to 5. This forces over $30 trillion in passive 401k and retirement money to buy SpaceX at IPO valuations. Bloomberg Intelligence estimates S&P" / X — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets
- [6] The S&P 500 will exclude SpaceX but Elon Musk is coming for your retirement savings anyway | Fortune — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets
- [7] @fancy_financier @mgeri @Hedgeye **Yes, the rule changes are happening.** Nasdaq (15 days), Russell/FTSE (5 days fast en... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-05-30)
- [8] Anthropic confidentially submits draft S-1 to the SEC — Anthropic News (2026-06-01)
- [9] BREAKING: WSJ reports OpenAI just made its first formal move toward IPO. — Rohan Paul Twitter (2026-06-08)
- [10] @CryptoMilox OpenAI's prepping a confidential IPO filing with Goldman & Morgan Stanley right now, eyeing Sept 2026. ... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-05-31)
- [11] OpenAI confirms confidential S-1 filing with the SEC for an IPO but says no fixed timeline, noting it "may be a while" a... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-09)
- [12] Altman says OpenAI isn't chasing an IPO timeline just because Anthropic filed. Translation: they'll go public when the n... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-01)
- [13] OpenAI is preparing its biggest ChatGPT redesign yet, before its IPO. — Rohan Paul Twitter (2026-06-07)
- [14] 🚀 Seguimiento SpaceX IPO: ~$26 mil millones/año solo de Google + Anthropic por compute en Colossus (S-1). — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-06)
- [15] SpaceX files S-1 IPO — reveals $1.25B/month compute deal with Anthropic — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-05-30)
- [16] Perplexity just said it plans a 2028 IPO no matter how Anthropic, OpenAI, or SpaceX trade when they hit public markets. — Rohan Paul Twitter (2026-06-09)
- [17] POLYMARKET ODDS OF AN OPENAI IPO BY DECEMBER 31, 2026 ARE NOW AT 71% — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-09)
- [18] Great job from the S&P 500 committee for staying firm on their positive net income rule. SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenA... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-05)
- [19] 🚨 OpenAI confirms confidential IPO filing, no timeline set. $OPENAI https://t.co/Kf2lZw5RZL — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-09)
- [20] SpaceX IPO is going to be a massive market event this week. Two key points on index inclusion and implications: — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-08)
- [21] S&P keeps door closed to mega-IPOs. The index provider will keep a 12-month seasoning rule and GAAP profitability te... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-04)
- [22] Anthropic just took the formal first step toward its IPO. — Rohan Paul Twitter (2026-06-01)
- [23] Perplexity is sticking to its plan for a 2028 IPO as Anthropic and OpenAI race to market: CEO Aravind Srinivas said the ... — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-09)
- [24] Perplexity CEO Maintains 2028 IPO Timeline, Cites AI Market Maturity Shift — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-09)
- [25] 📊 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: Wedbush Says Anthropic S-1 Could Open the IPO Floodgates - $SPCX — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets (2026-06-01)
- [26] Anthropic Files S-1 Opening The IPO Floodgates, Analyst Says — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets
- [27] Nobody remembers who went first in a tech wave, and this AI IPO cycle will be no different (Save this). — Milk Road AI Twitter (2026-06-03)
- [28] OpenAI aiming for speedy IPO, source says - Reuters — reactive:ai-ipo-public-markets