Could OpenAI Be the Next SpaceX After Its IPO?
Highlights
- Retail buzz around OpenAI is rising ahead of the upcoming IPO listing.
- OpenAI has similarities to SpaceX, drawing speculation over whether the ChatGPT maker could outperform SpaceX.
- The OpenAI pre-IPO perpetual contract has surged by 14% as demand spikes.
The OpenAI pre-IPO perpetual futures trading market is amassing interest, with Coinbase announcing that it will be joining Binance in opening trading for the stock, a move that has fuelled speculation about whether the ChatGPT maker could be the next SpaceX after its IPO.
The two exchange giants offered the SpaceX pre-IPO perps that saw $3.2 billion in perpetual futures volumes in the months leading to the June 12 IPO.
The retail interest in the SpaceX pre-IPO perps fuelled demand for the stock, and it moved from $150 to $176 on its first day of trading. SPCX closed trading on June 18 at $170, 13% higher from its IPO price.
With SpaceX already trading on NASDAQ, retail interest has now shifted to OpenAI, but one question lingers: Can OpenAI be the next SpaceX?
Upcoming IPO Details
OpenAI filed a confidential S-1 registration statement with the SEC on June 8, 2026, seeking approval for an IPO, but it did not reveal the date that it intends to go public.
In its statement, OpenAI hinted that it was not in a rush to become a publicly traded company, and this has reduced the odds of it going public before December 31, 2026, to 51% on Polymarket.
Still, the registration statement was a welcome call by retail traders who are now speculating what the OpenAI IPO price will be once the shares go live on NASDAQ.
OpenAI currently has a valuation of $830 billion, but this could increase to $1 trillion by the time the IPO happens.
Similarities Between OpenAI and SpaceX
OpenAI and SpaceX have similarities in founding, financial outlook, and business models.
SpaceX’s founder and CEO, Elon Musk, was among the reasons why the IPO attracted a lot of demand, and interestingly, he is also one of the founders of OpenAI alongside Sam Altman.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 and resigned from the board in February 2018. However, his exit has not been smooth, and he recently lost a lawsuit where he was accusing OpenAI of breach of contract for transitioning from a non-profit to a profit-based organization.
The IPO filing made by SpaceX on April 1, 2026, also revealed that the company had a net loss of $4.94 billion in 2025, and this loss mirrors the current financial outlook of OpenAI.
A report by the Financial Times leaked OpenAI’s financials, where the company reported a net loss of $5.09 billion in 2024 and a revenue of $3.7 billion. OpenAI revenues came in at $13 billion in 2025.
The leaked numbers also show that the ChatGPT maker had total costs and expenses of $12.48 billion.
SpaceX and OpenAI are also both heavily invested in artificial intelligence (AI), with CFRA analyst Keith Snyder stating that xAI justifies SpaceX’s valuation of more than $2 trillion.
Goldman Sachs also earlier said that xAI’s revenue would reach $322 billion by 2030, suggesting that Wall Street is pricing SpaceX as an AI company and not as a space company.
OpenAI is also largely known as one of the biggest AI companies because of its ChatGPT chatbot, and the recently leaked financials reveal that the biggest share of the $13 billion in revenues in 2025 is from its AI business.
Demand for OpenAI Pre-IPO Stock
The OpenAI pre-IPO stock is attracting the same level of demand that the SpaceX pre-IPO stock recorded.
Data from Binance shows that the OpenAI/USDT perpetual trading pair has $200 million in trading volumes since listing on the exchange on May 20, 2026.
The OPENAI/USDT perp contract has a price of $1,366, a 14% jump from the June 10 low of $1,171.
Still, this contract is trading below the May 26 launch price of $1,630.
Coinbase also launched the OpenAI Perp contract on June 22, which could add to the demand already seen on Binance.
Pre-IPO Stock Technical Analysis
The OpenAI/USDT perp contract has established support at the 20-day EMA level of $1,378 on the four-hour chart.
It briefly dropped below this price on June 22, and it might drop to $1,340 if this support at the 20-day EMA level does not hold.
If buy-side volumes resume, especially now that Coinbase has launched the OpenAI contract, OPENAI/USDT might rise to test the psychological resistance level at $1,400.
The RSI reading of 46 shows that the current momentum is favoring bears, making the retest of the support of $1,340 likely to happen.
Could OpenAI be the Next SpaceX After IPO?
OpenAI has the potential to become the next SpaceX after the IPO because of the current demand surrounding its perpetual contract, suggesting that retail demand is as high as it was for SpaceX before the IPO happened.
The demand for the SpaceX IPO was also driven by its having a footprint in the AI space, and here comes a company, OpenAI, whose business model is entirely rooted in AI.
The ongoing retail hype around AI could continue growing this year, and the OpenAI IPO is presenting a good opportunity for retail.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can OpenAI outperform the SpaceX IPO?
2. When will the OpenAI IPO happen?
3. Can you buy OpenAI stock before the IPO?
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