OpenAI puts a date on its IPO: 2027, on a $40B run rate it has yet to bank

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told employees at a Wednesday all-hands that the company "will be a public company in 2027," and could debut sooner if "our business continues to inflect" ^[1]. That puts a clock on the largest listing in the pipeline, and more usefully, a deadline on every private financing OpenAI does between now and then ^[1][3]. Friar framed the event as plumbing rather than a coronation. "The IPO is not a finish line, it is a milestone, another fundraise," she said, adding that the $122 billion raised in March "gives us flexibility" ^[2]. OpenAI filed its prospectus confidentially with the SEC in June and has not disclosed a debut date ^[3]. Per CNBC, the company is under pressure to justify an $852 billion private valuation, and investors want a closer look at the finances ^[4]. The slides she showed: revenue run rate up 35% quarter to date, enterprise run rate up 50% quarter to date, and the coding and work product at 20 million weekly active users ^[9]. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI told investors it generated $6.7 billion of revenue in the second quarter, up 18% from the first ^[13], while CNBC has reported the annualized run rate recently topped $40 billion ^[25]. Those two figures are not the same animal. Four times $6.7 billion is $26.8 billion ^[21]; the implied first quarter is roughly $5.7 billion, so the half is about $12.4 billion ^[22][23]. The $40 billion is an exit rate. Audited quarters in a public filing will force that distinction into the open. On the March mark, $852 billion against a $40 billion run rate is roughly 21 times ^[18]. The competitive frame is unflattering. Anthropic told investors its annualized run rate hit $65 billion at the end of July, a sevenfold increase in a year, with preliminary second-quarter revenue of $11.5 billion ^[10], about 1.7 times OpenAI's quarter ^[24]. Anthropic has also filed confidentially and has been holding early meetings with potential investors ^[5]. Friar told staff there is a chance Anthropic uncovers its filing in the coming weeks and goes public in September: "That's OK, we are running our own race" ^[6]. Cryptopolitan reports Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in May, $113 billion above OpenAI's latest private mark ^[11], which works out to about 15 times run rate ^[19], and that investors have discussed a listing valuation above $2 trillion, roughly 31 times ^[12][20]. According to the Wall Street Journal, banks have told both companies that whoever lists first sets the standards for the sector ^[16]. The internal history explains the date. According to Cryptopolitan, Sam Altman pushed for a fourth-quarter 2026 listing and refused to consider a valuation below $1 trillion, while Friar argued internally for 2027 because the company was not ready for public disclosure ^[7]; advisers presented leadership with a faster listing at a lower price or a 2027 listing at the target valuation ^[8]. Friar said at the Wall Street Journal's Tech Live event in November that an "IPO is not on the cards right now" ^[14]. Six months is a short half-life for a public position. Meanwhile the private market is doing the work a listing would. OpenAI bought back $7 billion of employee shares last week at the same $852 billion valuation set in March ^[15], a flat repricing. And chief revenue officer Denise Dresser left days before the all-hands, one of several senior departures this year ^[17], at the moment enterprise is carrying the story: Friar told investors on 14 August that business revenue had overtaken consumer revenue, reversing a 60-40 split at the start of the year, with 32% growth in July ^[26].