"You Might Regret Not Buying Now"... Overseas Retail Investors Stirred by News of Record-Breaking Monster Stocks' IPOs

SpaceX Targets $2 Trillion Valuation, IPO Set for Next Month

Anthropic Eyes October Listing, Bolsters AI Infrastructure

OpenAI Resolves Legal Risks, Possible IPO Next Year

Following SpaceX, which is targeting a Nasdaq listing on June 12, both Anthropic and OpenAI are also accelerating their initial public offerings (IPOs) in the second half of this year. Each company is focused on strengthening its infrastructure and resolving legal risks.

Recently, CNBC, Bloomberg, and other media outlets reported that SpaceX may release its investor prospectus to the public as early as May 20 (local time) or within this week, and plans to begin its roadshow on June 4.

SpaceX is expected to raise up to 80 billion dollars (approximately 120 trillion won) through its IPO. This amount is about 4% of the company’s estimated valuation of nearly 2 trillion dollars (about 3,000 trillion won), and the funds will be used for mass production of next-generation Starship vehicles and the construction of space artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, among other initiatives. If SpaceX succeeds in raising the planned 80 billion dollars, it will break the record for the largest IPO proceeds to date, previously held by Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Aramco in 2019 (25.6 billion dollars).

With this unprecedented IPO amount, SpaceX has assembled a syndicate of 21 underwriters. Under the internal codename “Project Apex,” the lead underwriters include Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup. In addition, major financial institutions from various countries—such as Wells Fargo (U.S.), Deutsche Bank (Germany), Macquarie (Australia), and Mizuho Financial Group (Japan)—have joined the lineup.

Anthropic, which is preparing for its own IPO in October right after SpaceX, is reportedly in discussions with Wall Street’s leading investment banks, including Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase, about underwriter selection. Its expected market capitalization is 900 billion dollars (approximately 1,350 trillion won). If the figure holds, it would surpass the 852 billion dollar valuation OpenAI received during its funding round in March. Anthropic, having gained recognition for its AI software “Claude,” is projected to see its revenue—90 billion dollars at the end of last year—exceed an annualized 50 billion dollars by the end of the second quarter this year.

However, there have been concerns about Anthropic’s relatively weak infrastructure. On May 6, Anthropic announced in an official statement that it had leased the entire server infrastructure of SpaceX’s large-scale AI supercomputer “Colossus 1.” The company also revealed it would remove peak usage limits for paid subscribers and significantly increase API processing speeds. Additionally, Bloomberg recently reported that Anthropic has signed a seven-year cloud computing infrastructure contract with Akamai, a cloud security and delivery company, worth 1 billion dollars (approximately 2.4 trillion won).

OpenAI’s IPO, following its victory in a lawsuit against Elon Musk on May 18, is also drawing attention. Musk had sued OpenAI, claiming it had abandoned its non-profit mission, but the court ruled in favor of OpenAI, with the jury deciding that the statute of limitations had expired. As a result, OpenAI not only avoided Musk’s 150 billion dollar (approximately 225 trillion won) damage claim, but also reduced legal risks ahead of its IPO planned for later this year. Foreign media widely agree that even if Musk appeals, it is unlikely to overturn the outcome. OpenAI is targeting a minimum corporate valuation of 1 trillion dollars (about 1,500 trillion won).

Some predict that OpenAI may postpone its IPO to early next year, considering internal restructuring and concerns over market liquidity. The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported statements from insiders suggesting that the company may need to delay its listing to meet accounting and internal control reporting standards required for public companies. There are also opinions that OpenAI needs to address the issue of fixed infrastructure costs totaling as much as 1.15 trillion dollars.

As these space and AI companies—each valued at hundreds of trillions of won—announce successive IPO plans, a shift toward a performance-driven AI market is expected. Samsung Securities recently noted in a report, “These companies have a structure where cash outflows are as rapid as revenue increases, so investors may be concerned about long-term profitability. However, unlike previous unicorns that played supporting roles to existing Big Tech, these companies now have the potential to replace the current market leaders.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.