Quote · Hard Fork
Hot I.P.O Summer + What Is A.I. Doing to Math? + HatGPT
Where this was said
Hot IPO Summer: SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI Race to Market
At 8:17 · chapter starts 3:19
The hosts plunge into what could be the most consequential IPO wave in financial history. SpaceX is furthest along: it aims to raise $75 billion at $135 per share, valuing the combined entity — rockets, Starlink, xAI, and X — between $1.75 and $2 trillion [1] — Casey Newton "SpaceX IPO at $135/share: SpaceX plans to sell shares at $135 each, aiming to raise $75 billion and value the company at $1.75–$2 trillion." 04:17 . Casey frames SpaceX as two great businesses (reusable rockets, Starlink) yoked to two terrible ones (xAI and X), which Elon Musk apparently folded in to hide losses from weaker assets [2] — Casey Newton "It seemed like Elon Musk decided he needed to kind of hide his losses somewhere. And so they inherited the two worst companies he owned." 06:56 . Anthropic, meanwhile, filed a confidential S-1 and is expected to IPO at over $1 trillion — an almost incomprehensible trajectory given Kevin Roose's recollection of visiting the company in 2023 when it 'actively resisted the idea of making money.' The company's annualized revenue run rate reportedly jumped from $1 billion in early 2025 to $50 billion. OpenAI is also preparing to file. The hosts also flag their personal conflicts of interest: The New York Times is suing OpenAI, and Casey's fiancée works at Anthropic.
SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are all heading to public markets in 2026, potentially constituting the three biggest IPOs ever. SpaceX alone is targeting a $75 billion raise at a $1.75–$2 trillion valuation — numbers never before seen in the history of capitalism.
SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI are all expected to go public in 2026, potentially constituting the three largest IPOs in history.
SpaceX plans to sell shares at $135 each, aiming to raise $75 billion and value the company at $1.75–$2 trillion.
A successful SpaceX IPO would instantly place it among the very largest companies in the world by market capitalization.
SpaceX has two incredible businesses — reusable rockets and Starlink — but Elon Musk folded xAI and X into the company, apparently to hide those losses. Investors will have to take the good with the bad in a single stock.
Anthropic filed a confidential S-1 and is expected to go public at a valuation exceeding one trillion dollars.
