4 Major Companies That Could IPO in 2026

The IPO market is heating up after years of decline, with the recent success of SpaceX paving the way for a surge in companies going public. SpaceX, which includes Starlink, xAI, and rocket launch services, made a record-setting debut on June 12 and has seen its stock gain 24% in less than a week. This has made SpaceX the fifth largest publicly traded company on Earth and has sparked interest in other companies to follow suit.

The number of IPOs has been on the decline in recent years, with only 181 companies going public in 2022 and 154 in 2023. However, 171 public listings have already occurred this year, indicating a resurgence in interest in IPOs.

Jennifer Horton, executive vice president at CapWealth, believes that the success of the SpaceX IPO could open the door for other companies to go public. Data from prediction markets and the Nasdaq’s IPO calendar also support this notion, with several companies expected to hold public listings by the end of 2026.

One such company is OpenAI, the company behind the large language model ChatGPT. OpenAI recently announced that it had confidentially filed Form S-1 with the SEC, indicating its intention to pursue a public offering. The company closed a $122 billion funding round in March, valuing it at $852 billion. Analysts project that OpenAI will reach profitability around 2029, but the company’s financial disclosures are not yet publicly available.

Despite its high valuation, Anthropic, a direct competitor to OpenAI, is also considering an IPO in 2026. The company has not rushed to go public, but the success of SpaceX and OpenAI may prompt it to make a move in the near future.

Overall, the resurgence of IPOs in 2026 is a positive sign for the market, with companies like SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic leading the way in the new wave of public listings. Investors and analysts are eagerly watching to see which companies will follow suit and make their debut on the public market. Anthropic, a company known for developing LLMs and advanced AI assistants, recently filed its S-1 on June 1. The company, most famous for its Claude family of models, indicated in a press release that the filing gives them the option to go public after the SEC completes its review. However, they emphasized that the proposed initial public offering will depend on market conditions and other factors.

An interesting aspect of Anthropic is that it is structured as a public benefit corporation, which means it is required to balance its financial goals with positive social impacts. CEO Dario Amodei has been vocal about the importance of thoroughly assessing the risks associated with AI models before rushing them to market. He stated in an interview with ABC that the responsibility primarily falls on the company to ensure the safety and ethical use of AI technology.

In a recent funding round, Anthropic raised $65 billion, bringing its valuation to $965 billion. This valuation is 13% higher than that of OpenAI, led by Sam Altman. Despite having fewer monthly active users (MAUs) than its competitor, with 56 million users for Claude, Anthropic has seen impressive year-over-year MAU growth of about 640%, outpacing its competitor’s growth rate of 62%.

It is speculated that Anthropic may proceed with an IPO before November 1, with a likelihood of 85%, according to Kalshi. While AI firms are taking the spotlight in the IPO market, other companies like Kraken and Discord are also eyeing public debuts in 2026.

Kraken, a major centralized crypto exchange founded in 2011, is considering an IPO after remaining private for several years. Discord, originally designed for gamers but now catering to various online communities, also filed its S-1 for a potential IPO.

Kraken’s IPO plans were put on hold due to the bear market in the crypto industry, with the company’s valuation dropping from $20 billion to approximately $13.3 billion. Discord, on the other hand, is facing the challenge of restoring its valuation, which was previously over $15 billion but has since decreased.

Discord boasts an estimated 260 million MAUs and operates on a freemium model, offering premium subscriptions, server boosts, game sales commissions, and brand partnerships. Both Kraken and Discord are expected to make their IPO debuts in the fall of 2026, according to TradingView.