Top AI IPOs To Watch in 2026: OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX, and More

For years, most of the biggest AI companies stayed private, which meant regular investors could not buy their shares. That began to change in 2026. OpenAI and Anthropic have confirmed IPO filings, while SpaceX completed its public debut on June 12 after bringing xAI into the group.

That said, not every AI company you might come across in IPO discussions is actually close to going public. Some companies have started the filing process, some remain private-market candidates, and some crypto products offer exposure without ownership. This guide separates confirmed developments from speculation and explains what each access route actually gives you.

Why AI IPOs are drawing so much attention in 2026

Private AI companies spent years raising capital at valuations that public investors could only read about. That changed in 2026, as the biggest names in the sector began moving to stock exchanges within weeks of each other.

Cerebras Systems set the tone. The AI chipmaker opened 89% above its IPO price in its US market debut on May 14, 2026, according to Reuters. The reception showed deep public appetite for AI listings.

SpaceX then raised the stakes. The company set a fixed $135 share price for 555.6 million shares, a roughly $75 billion raise, according to CNBC. At that price, the offering values the company at $1.77 trillion and would rank as the largest US IPO on record. For those interested, here’s BeInCrypto’s detailed guide on the 6 pre- and post-IPO routes for investing in SpaceX.

Within the same two weeks, OpenAI and Anthropic confirmed SEC filings of their own. But before we get into the IPO details, let’s first establish which of these companies are AI and which are AI-adjacent (and what we mean by those terms).

AI or AI-adjacent? How each company classifies

Not every company in the 2026 IPO conversation is an AI company in the same sense. OpenAI and Anthropic are pure AI companies because their core businesses revolve around foundation models, AI products, and enterprise tools.

SpaceX is different. Its core business remains launch services, Starlink, satellites, and space infrastructure, so it fits better as an AI-adjacent listing after bringing xAI, Grok, and X into the group.

Databricks fits in another bucket. It builds data and AI infrastructure through its lakehouse platform and MosaicML stack, but it has not filed to go public.

Cerebras is an AI infrastructure company because it makes chips and systems for AI workloads, but it is already public.

Perplexity is an AI-native search company, but it is targeting a later listing rather than a 2026 IPO. Cohere is a pure AI model company with no filing evidence yet.

All statuses in this article were last checked on June 12, 2026, and IPO timelines can change quickly.

Top AI IPOs to watch in 2026

Three companies have live paperwork with the SEC, and each is at a different stage of the process. Here is what each name does, why it matters, and what to watch for.

OpenAI

OpenAI is the maker of ChatGPT, the consumer AI product that pulled the entire sector into the mainstream. Its business spans the ChatGPT subscription tiers, a developer API, and enterprise products built on its model line.

OpenAI confirmed on June 8, 2026, that it submitted a confidential draft S-1 to the SEC and stressed that listing timing has not been decided. The company was last valued at $852 billion post-money, according to CNBC, after closing a $122 billion funding round on March 31, 2026, per its own announcement.

CEO Sam Altman reportedly gave staff a softer timeline than the official statement. The Information reported that he told employees he expects the company to go public within the next year.

• Status: Confidential S-1 confirmed, timing not decided.
• AI label: Pure AI.
• Key products: ChatGPT, developer API, enterprise tools.
• Watch trigger: Public S-1, ticker, share range, and first revenue disclosure.
• Crypto access: Synthetic pre-IPO perpetuals on some exchanges, no shares.
• Main risk: Timing is open, and the reported $1 trillion target far exceeds its last private round.

Anthropic

Anthropic builds the Claude model family and earns most of its revenue from enterprise and API customers, with the Claude Code assistant a major growth driver. The company said run-rate revenue crossed $47 billion in May 2026 in a company statement, up from a $30 billion pace in April, according to VentureBeat.

Anthropic moved first among the AI labs. It announced a confidential draft S-1 on June 1, 2026, with share count and price range still undetermined, and noted that any IPO depends on SEC review, market conditions, and other factors. The filing landed days after a $65 billion Series H round at a $965 billion post-money valuation, according to CNBC.

• Status: Confidential S-1 confirmed, share count and price not set.
• AI label: Pure AI.
• Key products: Claude models, Claude Code, enterprise API.
• Watch trigger: Public S-1, valuation range, and revenue disclosure.
• Crypto access: Pre-IPO perpetuals on some exchanges, no equity.
• Main risk: A near $1 trillion private valuation leaves little room for public-market disappointment.

SpaceX and xAI, the AI-adjacent IPO

SpaceX built its business on launch services, the Starlink satellite internet network, and space infrastructure. It earns its place on an AI list through acquisitions rather than origins.

Its S-1 on the SEC’s EDGAR database states that xAI was acquired by SpaceX effective Feb. 2, 2026, and that X Holdings was acquired by xAI effective Mar. 28, 2025. That brings Grok and the X platform under the same roof.

The numbers show how the pieces fit. The S-1 reports roughly $18.7 billion in 2025 revenue, with Starlink supplying $11.4 billion of that total, while the AI segment produced $3.2 billion in revenue against a $6.4 billion operating loss. Proceeds are earmarked partly for AI compute, launch infrastructure, and an orbital data-center program targeted for deployment around 2028.

SpaceX priced its offering at $135 per share on the evening of June 11, 2026, and trading began on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX on June 12. Demand reportedly topped $250 billion against roughly $75 billion of available shares, with retail orders alone exceeding $100 billion, according to Bloomberg.

The heavy oversubscription led SpaceX to cut the retail allocation to the low-20% range, down from the roughly 30% discussed earlier, CNBC reported.

• Status: IPO completed. Priced at $135 on June 11; trading on Nasdaq under SPCX since June 12.
• AI label: AI-adjacent through xAI, Grok, X, and AI compute plans.
• Key products: Starlink, launch services, satellites, Grok, and X.
• Watch trigger: First-day trading, then the first weekend of tokenized SPCXx activity.
• Crypto access: The strongest of any name, spanning tokenized IPO access and perpetuals.
• Main risk: Not a clean AI comparison, a contested valuation, and Musk-ecosystem related-party complexity.

For further details, read our comprehensive guide on how to buy SpaceX (SPCX) stock.

Other future AI IPO candidates

Several well-known AI companies remain part of the broader IPO conversation, but none have confirmed 2026 listings. For now, they are better viewed as future candidates rather than active 2026 IPOs.

Databricks, a future candidate rather than a confirmed 2026 filing

Databricks runs a data and AI platform built around its lakehouse architecture and the MosaicML training stack. As of Jun. 10, 2026, it has filed nothing with the SEC. The company raised about $5 billion at a $134 billion valuation in February 2026, according to Reuters, and Reuters reported on Jun. 9, 2026, that it is discussing a new round at a $165 billion to $175 billion valuation.

CEO Ali Ghodsi said on Jun. 4, 2026, that this is a bad year to go public because the listing calendar is so crowded. He maintains the company will list eventually, mainly to give employees liquidity.

Reports tied to the new funding talks put its annualized revenue near $5.4 billion, up more than 65% year over year.

For 2026, the only Databricks position is patience. Any product that promises Databricks IPO access today is selling exposure to a listing that does not exist.

Perplexity, Cerebras, and Cohere

Perplexity, the AI search company, is targeting 2028 regardless of how the OpenAI and Anthropic listings perform, according to Reuters. It is useful context, not a 2026 watch name.

Cerebras already trades publicly after its May 2026 debut, so it belongs in the rearview mirror. Its post-listing performance still works as a live gauge of public appetite for AI compute.

Cohere, the enterprise model builder, remains a speculative candidate with no filing evidence. With the field sorted, the access question comes next.

Can you buy OpenAI or Anthropic stock before the IPO?

Direct pre-IPO access to these companies remains narrow. Private shares change hands on secondary marketplaces, but sellers typically restrict deals to institutions and accredited buyers.

An accredited investor is someone who meets income or net-worth thresholds set by US securities rules. Most retail investors do not qualify, which closes the main legitimate route to private AI shares.

The SEC warns that private placements can be illiquid, carry limited disclosure, and expose buyers to total loss. However, the bigger danger sits outside regulated channels.

How crypto users can get AI IPO exposure

Crypto exchanges have started building products around the 2026 AI IPO cycle. The offers fall into two broad camps: tokenized stock programs and synthetic derivatives.

Kraken opened SpaceX IPO participation through its xStocks program on Jun. 5, 2026. Eligible customers in more than 110 regions, including the EEA, can submit an indication of interest. Successful applicants receive SPCXx, a tokenized representation of SpaceX equity backed one-to-one by real shares.

Kraken’s own terms spell out the limits. It states that SPCXx provides price exposure only, with no voting or dividend rights. The product is not available in the US or to US persons, and access is also unavailable in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Allocation is not guaranteed, and excess funds are returned.

Bybit runs a similar tokenized SpaceX program through its IPO Express service, though it excludes EEA users. The exchange states plainly that tokenized exposure is not the same as holding direct SpaceX shares.

Coinbase launched pre-IPO perpetual futures on June 4, 2026, starting with SpaceX. The contract is USDC-settled, trades 24/7 with no expiry, and automatically transitions into a standard SpaceX perpetual once the company lists. It is offered through Coinbase’s international arm and is not available to US persons.

OKX lists pre-IPO perpetual futures for SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic, settled in USDT with leverage from 0.01x to 5x. Its own product page states the contracts provide no ownership interest or economic claim, and that the contract price is set by OKX market participants rather than any official company valuation.

Several other exchanges list similar contracts under the same no-equity terms, often structured as pre-IPO tokens or swaps.

Note that these are only examples, not a complete list or endorsements. Other platforms may offer comparable products, and the terms can differ widely. Do your own homework: check the product structure, regional availability, fees, custody setup, and whether you receive shares, tokenized exposure, or only a derivative.

Tokenized IPO access vs. tokenized stocks vs. pre-IPO perps

Tokenized IPO access lets users request an allocation in a real offering and receive a token backed by actual shares, as with Kraken’s SPCXx. The holder gets price exposure from the IPO price onward, though usually without voting rights or dividends.

Tokenized stocks are blockchain tokens backed one-to-one by real shares held with a regulated custodian, typically for companies that already trade publicly. They track the share price around the clock. This structure is a form of real-world asset tokenization applied to equities.

Pre-IPO perpetuals are derivative contracts that track a private company’s estimated valuation. No shares exist behind the position. Like other perpetuals, they use funding rates and leverage, and they can liquidate a position long before any IPO happens.

The table doubles as a quick test for any product you come across. For instance, if a platform cannot tell you which row it belongs to, that silence is the answer. Risk deserves its own closer look before anyone commits funds.

Key risks before chasing AI IPO exposure

Every route in this article carries a distinct failure mode. The list below covers the ones that matter most:

• Category and valuation risk: Each company has its own business mix, valuation, and public-market risk. SpaceX is a good example: it is not a pure AI exposure, so an AI thesis expressed through SPCX is also partly a bet on rockets, satellites, and Starlink. Valuation gaps matter too. Morningstar valued SpaceX near $780 billion, roughly 48% below the IPO target, according to CNBC. Hot listings can also lose momentum once early demand fades.
• Product mismatch risk: Marketing that says IPO access may describe a derivative or a token, not direct equity. Confirm what the product delivers before assuming shareholder rights.
• No shareholder rights: Most crypto-based products grant price exposure without votes, dividends, or legal claims on the company.
• Leverage and liquidation risk: Pre-IPO perps can close a position on routine volatility. For instance, OKX notes these contracts can swing harder than perpetuals on listed stocks because no public reference price exists.
• Oracle and estimation risk. Before a public S-1, exchanges price perps using estimated share counts. OKX, for example, runs a rebase that adjusts positions once real share counts appear in a filing.
• Event risk. If an IPO is delayed or cancelled, an exchange can delist a pre-IPO contract and settle it at a price of its own choosing, as OKX’s terms state.
• Custody and counterparty risk. A tokenized stock is only as strong as its issuer and custodian.
• Regional eligibility risk: Availability shifts by jurisdiction and can change without much notice.
• Private-market fraud risk: The SEC warns that pre-IPO offers aimed at the general public are often illegal or fraudulent.

None of this means the products are bad. It means each route suits a different reader, which leads to the final question.

Which AI IPOs are most noteworthy right now

SpaceX now takes center stage. Its June 12 debut is the live test of public appetite for trillion-dollar listings and the first large-scale experiment in tokenized IPO access. The first weekend of SPCXx trading should show whether 24/7 tokenized equity holds up under real volume.

Similarly, OpenAI and Anthropic form the confirmed pipeline. Confidential filings typically precede listings by several months, so the second half of 2026 is the window to watch, though neither company has committed to a date. The public versions of their S-1s, with tickers, share ranges, and audited revenue, are the next milestones.

In all likelihood, Databricks is a 2027 story at the earliest, based on its CEO’s own comments. Treat any product promising Databricks IPO access today with extra caution.

Overall, the reliable approach stays the same across all of them. Check what is filed, separate it from what is rumored, and confirm exactly what your chosen access route grants before any money moves.